According to a new poll from The Center Square Voters’ Voice, a growing concern has emerged amongst the U.S. populace regarding the surging drug overdose deaths, especially with the 2024 election looming.
This poll, orchestrated by Noble Predictive Insights on behalf of The Center Square, revealed that 57% of participants are deeply alarmed about fentanyl-related deaths. A further 32% expressed some level of anxiety, totaling to 89% of the respondents.
In contrast, a small percentage (7%) of the 2,500 registered voters in the poll weren’t perturbed about the rising fentanyl overdoses, while 3% remained undecided on their stance.
Fentanyl’s impact on the current drug crisis cannot be overlooked. It’s a potent synthetic opioid chiefly responsible for the spike in overdose deaths. Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alarmingly show that between August 2021 and August 2022, the country witnessed 107,735 overdose fatalities due to drugs. Fentanyl and its ilk were involved in about 66% of these tragedies.
Mike Noble, the visionary behind Noble Predictive Insights, saying, “It’s quite eye-opening to see that 9 out of 10 people harbor concerns about fentanyl.”
An illustrative piece by Kate Guenther for The Center Square delves into the blame game. A significant number of voters (56%) pin the overdose problem on Mexican drug cartels, while a slightly lesser percentage (53%) point fingers at American drug consumers.
Chinese firms, Biden’s border policies, and big pharma companies also didn’t escape the blame, receiving 44%, 39%, and 29% of the blame respectively.
Interestingly, when breaking down by political allegiance, Democrats (61%) and Republicans favoring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (57%) were quick to blame American drug users. On the flip side, elder voters (62% of those aged 55 and older) and Republicans (65%) were more inclined to hold Mexican cartels accountable, especially those who deemed illegal immigration a major concern.
In commenting on the data, Mike Noble emphasized, “The fentanyl issue is undeniably resonating with voters, yet it seems to be underrepresented in public policy discussions.”
In the broader picture, other findings from The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll reveal tight electoral contests, concerns over inflation, crime, the economy, and government expenditure.
For those keen on understanding the methodology behind the poll, it spanned from July 31 to Aug. 3. Noble Predictive surveyed a diverse group consisting of 1,000 Republicans, 1,000 Democrats, and 500 independents, bringing the total respondents to 2,500. Detailed methodology can be accessed at www.noblepredictiveinsights.com.
