FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Polling Indicates Widespread, Bipartisan Support for SNAP and Medicaid Programs
Poll shows that Republican voters oppose proposals like work requirements that put mothers, veterans, and caregivers at risk.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – New polling conducted by The Tarrance Group, surveying national and congressional district-level voters, reveals widespread support among Republican voters for protecting Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As Congress weighs reconciliation and potential changes to safety net programs, this data sends a clear warning to lawmakers considering new work requirements or funding cuts.
Contrary to recent political rhetoric, GOP voters themselves support maintaining or increasing funding for both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These voters are also far more concerned about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse than imposing new red tape that could harm children, military families, seniors, and caregivers.
Key findings include:
• Nationally, 82% of voters — including majorities of Republicans — support protecting or expanding these programs, rather than cutting them. Roughly 70% of Republican primary voters in Missouri’s 8th District and 79% of Republican voters in Pennsylvania’s 1st District support maintaining or increasing funding for SNAP and Medicaid.
• Belief that these programs are a critical safety net, especially for children and our military families, registers at or above 85% nationally, in the 1st District of Pennsylvania, as well as among Republicans in the 8th District of Missouri.
• In both Pennsylvania’s 1st District and Missouri’s 8th, majorities say it’s wrong to take SNAP benefits away from single moms or caregivers who can’t meet strict new work requirements.
Majority of voters consistently say the federal focus should be on reducing waste, fraud, and abuse — not punishing those in need with new barriers.
“These numbers don’t lie: even in solid Republican districts, voters want Congress to protect SNAP and Medicaid,” said Dee Stewart, President of Americans for a Balanced Budget (ABB). “This isn’t just a moral issue — it’s a political one. GOP lawmakers who push harsh work requirements are out of step with their own base.”
Americans for a Balanced Budget is calling on lawmakers to listen to their voters and reject any proposals that would add burdensome work requirements or shift SNAP funding to states’ programs.
The national survey was conducted via an online panel from April 22-24th, among n=1,000 voters in the country (+/- 3.1% margin of error), with an oversample of n=300 voters in households with annual incomes under $60,000 a year. The survey of all voters in Pennsylvania CD 1 and among Republicans in Missouri CD 8 was conducted via live-caller and texts from May 6-8, among N=300 respondents in each district (+/- 5.8% margin of error).
About ABB:
Americans for a Balanced Budget is a conservative issue advocacy organization originally founded in the late 1980s.