Polls: Most Americans oppose strikes on Iran, but big gap between Democrats, Republicans

Nearly a month since the U.S. and Israeli launched military attacks on Iran, a slew of new national polls indicate that most Americans give the military strikes a thumbs down.

But the surveys point to a continued broad partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans over the ongoing fighting in the volatile Middle East.

Forty-two percent of voters support the current U.S. military action against Iran, and 58% oppose it, including nearly 4 in 10 who are strongly opposed, according to a Fox News national poll conducted last Friday through Monday (March 20–23) and released on Wednesday.

That’s a switch from the previous Fox News poll, which was in the field Feb. 28 to March 2, when those questioned were evenly divided on support for the strikes.

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The Fox News poll is far from alone in pointing to underwater support for the fighting.

Fifty-four percent of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 19-23 said they opposed the military action, while 39% supported it.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

Only 35% said they supported the strikes in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in the field March 20–22, with 61% saying they disapproved of the military action.

According to an AP/NORC poll that surveyed respondents from March 19–23, six in 10 said the military action against Iran had gone too far, with just over a quarter saying it’s been about right, and 13% saying it has not gone far enough.

And a Pew Research Center poll conducted March 16–22 indicated that 61% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, with 37% approving.

The military attacks by the U.S. and Israel have resulted in the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, and the decimation of the country’s military.

But Iran has retaliated with attacks against Israel and many of its other neighbors in the region.

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And Iran has targeted energy facilities with missile and drone attacks in a number of Persian Gulf nations. It has also made the Strait of Hormuz nearly impassable to commercial shipping, bringing to a halt roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply and in turn sending fuel prices skyrocketing in the U.S. and across the globe.

Trump said on Thursday that Iran is “begging to make a deal” to end the fighting.

While many Democratic political leaders have criticized Trump’s handling of the conflict, most Republicans are standing with the president.

And that’s reflected in opinions among Democratic and Republican voters.

The partisan divide was stark in the Fox News poll.

More than three-quarters (77%) of Republicans supported the effort compared to 12% of Democrats and 28% of independents. Within the GOP, support ranged from 90% among MAGA supporters to 52% of non-MAGA Republicans.

The gap was just as wide in the other polls, including the Quinnipiac survey, where 86% of Republicans supported the military action, compared to 28% of independents and just five percent of Democrats.