Survey: Americans' knowledge of politics

[Stranger in a strange land]

What % of Americans do you estimate could name:

The President
The Vice President
The Speaker of the House
The Senate Majority Leader
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004
Their Governor
Their Mayor
Their County Executive
Their Congressman
Their State Senator
Their State Representative

[dead0man]

The President-98%
The Vice President-75%
The Speaker of the House-35%
The Senate Majority Leader-20%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008-85%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004-50%
Their Governor-45%
Their Mayor-50%
Their County Executive-10%
Their Congressman-70%
Their State Senator-35%
Their State Representative-30%

[Smash255]

The President  97%
The Vice President 88%
The Speaker of the House  40%
The Senate Majority Leader  30%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008  80%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004   55%
Their Governor  55%
*Their Mayor   20-75%
*Their County Executive  15-65%
Their Congressman  65%
Their State Senator   30%
Their State Representative   25%


Mayor and County Executive really depend on the size and power.  Someone living in NYC, LA, etc are much more likely to know their mayor, than someone living in a small town, village, etc where the mayor has very little power.  Same thing with County Executive.   Here on Long Island where you have large populations of (1.35 million + in Nassau and 1.5 million + in Suffolk) and the Executives have quite a bit of power and influence, they will be well known.  However, living in some small county where the county government doesn't have much power they aren't well known. 

[opebo]

The President-90%
The Vice President-60%
The Speaker of the House-15%
The Senate Majority Leader-10%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008-40%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004-40%
Their Governor-25%
Their Mayor-25%
Their County Executive-5%
Their Congressman-25%
Their State Senator-15%
Their State Representative-10%

[justW353]

The President:  95%
The Vice President:  70%
The Speaker of the House:  35%
The Senate Majority Leader:  25%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008:  60%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004:  50%
Their Governor:  40%
Their Mayor:  15%
Their County Executive:  5%
Their Congressman:  20%
Their State Senator:  5%
Their State Representative:  5%

Pretty sad.

[Mr. Morden]

The President:  95%
The Vice President:  70%
The Speaker of the House:  35%
The Senate Majority Leader:  25%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008:  60%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004:  50%
Their Governor:  40%
Their Mayor:  15%
Their County Executive:  5%
Their Congressman:  20%
Their State Senator:  5%
Their State Representative:  5%

Pretty sad.

This is probably about right.  Of course, "able to name" is actually a bit ambiguous.  For example, there are probably quite a few people who are well aware of who Joe Biden is in the sense that they've heard of him and have seen stories about him in the news that mention that he's VP.....but they wouldn't necessarily be able to come up with the name "Joe Biden" on the spot if you asked them who the vice president is.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Here's what I would estimate:

The President - 95%
The Vice President - 80%
The Speaker of the House - 40%
The Senate Majority Leader - 35%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008 - 60%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004 - 35%
Their Governor - 60%
Their Mayor - 55% (keep in mind a lot of people live in suburbs where the mayor isn't very important)
Their County Executive - 15% (pretty much only those who live in areas where it's relevant)
Their Congressman - 30%
Their State Senator - 10%
Their State Representative - 8%

[Verily]

The President: 85%
The Vice President: 40%
The Speaker of the House: 35%
The Senate Majority Leader: 25%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008: 70%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004: 50%
Their Governor: 45%
Their Mayor: 30%
Their County Executive: 15%
Their Congressman: 30%
Their State Senator: 10%
Their State Representative: 8%

Nobody knows who Biden is. Don't kid yourselves. Cheney was more prominent and would have been more recognized, but most VPs are pretty anonymous with the public (and a lot of people only knew Cheney as the guy who shot someone in the face).

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

The President - 98%
The Vice President - 75%
The Speaker of the House - 30%
The Senate Majority Leader - 25%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008 - 70%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004 - 55%
Their Governor - 55%
Their Mayor - 15%
Their County Executive - 5%
Their Congressman - 35%
Their State Senator - 10%
Their State Representative - 5%

[Lunar]

Does CA have county executives?  If so, for the 20 years of my life I spent there (3-23), I've never heard of him/her.

In NYC, it's obviously really easy to know my executive, since they're always ambitious and whatnot.

I forget my Assemblyman.  Some sites get my congressman wrong since although I live in a Maloney 9 digit zip code, I live in Nydia Velázquez's overwhelmingly Brooklyn district since it's racially gerrymandered. 

[Хahar 🤔]

Does CA have county executives?  If so, for the 20 years of my life I spent there (3-23), I've never heard of him/her.

There's a person running each county, but the position isn't elective.

[Free Palestine]

The President - 90%
The Vice President - 50%
The Speaker of the House - 30%
The Senate Majority Leader - 20%
The Republican Presidential Nominee in 2008 - 70%
The Democratic Presidential Nominee in 2004 - 70%
Their Governor - 50%
Their Mayor - 30%
Their County Executive - 5%
Their Congressman - 20%
Their State Senator - 5%
Their State Representative - 5%

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." - Thomas Jefferson.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Some of you believe that 1 in 20 Americans don't know that Obama is President?  Are we counting newborns and crackheads here?  Even the latter should know, for obvious reasons.

If you're a functionally illiterate methhead living in a trailer park and the only TV shows you ever watch are soaps, there's a pretty good chance you don't know who Obama is.