Millions of Americans favor strong leaders over democracy

A large study of American adults indicates that while the vast majority support democratic values, millions of individuals hold views that are sympathetic to authoritarianism and the government’s domestic use of force. While the personal willingness to commit political violence among the public remains low, these alternative political preferences create a social climate that could encourage democratic backsliding. The findings were published in Injury Epidemiology.

Social scientists and policy experts have expressed growing anxiety about the health of American democracy over the past decade. Recent events have featured intense political polarization, civil unrest, and changing federal policies that involve the deployment of military and law enforcement personnel during protests. These distinct pressures have prompted questions about how ordinary citizens view the current government structure and the basic social contract.

Researchers wanted to measure public attitudes toward authoritarianism as this political transition unfolds. Authoritarianism is a political system that favors concentrated power in a strong leader, demands unquestioning obedience to authority, and limits democratic freedoms. Evaluating the public appetite for such leadership provides a baseline understanding of national political stability.

Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine physician and violence prevention researcher at the University of California, Davis, led a team to investigate these civic attitudes. Wintemute and his colleagues sought to map the prevalence of anti-democratic sentiments across different segments of the United States population. The research team hoped to provide data that could guide public safety interventions and help community leaders limit political violence. They built their work on an ongoing, multi-year survey project that tracks public opinion as national political landscapes shift.

The team conducted a large study utilizing a nationally representative survey of 8,248 adults. The polling firm Ipsos administered the survey online between May and June of 2025. Participants answered questions about their political affiliations, their views on democratic institutions, and their opinions regarding the federal government’s use of force against civilians. The researchers also asked participants if they would personally engage in physical violence to advance political goals, either in support of or in opposition to the government.

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To gauge authoritarian leanings, the questionnaire asked participants how much they agreed with the statement that having a strong leader for America is more important than having a democracy. It also proposed a statement about whether the country should suspend Congress for a few years so a strong leader can clean up the mess made by politicians in Washington. These questions deliberately avoided naming specific contemporary political figures to maintain a focus on foundational principles.

When assessing opinions on government violence, the questionnaire asked if the federal government should deploy the military or private armed militia groups to enforce domestic policies. Another series of questions asked if the government should arrest people who publicly voice their opposition, join demonstrations, or publish critical news stories. The survey defined force or violence as physical force strong enough that it could cause pain or injury to a person.

The survey results showed that an overwhelming majority of the respondents, accounting for 88 percent of the group, considered it very or extremely important that the United States remain a democracy. A slightly smaller majority of 61 percent felt that the nation’s democracy was actively facing a serious threat. More than two thirds of the survey takers strongly or very strongly agreed that democracy is the best form of government.

Despite this broad support for basic democratic ideals, a substantial minority of the population expressed an openness to authoritarian concepts. Fifteen percent of the survey takers strongly or very strongly agreed that having a strong leader was more important than having a democracy. Extrapolating these percentages to the entire country, the researchers estimated that nearly 40 million adults hold this view. Nearly 12 percent of the respondents endorsed the idea of suspending Congress in favor of an unchecked executive leader.

The researchers also uncovered varying levels of support for state-sponsored domestic force. Roughly one in ten respondents fully supported the government using the military to enforce its policies inside the national borders. Slightly more than 4 percent of the participants strongly agreed that the government should utilize private armed militia groups for the same enforcement purposes. Between 5 and 7 percent of the respondents felt that federal authorities should arrest everyday citizens and journalists who publicly criticize the administration.

Personal appetite for physical combat remained relatively uncommon among the general public. Only about 2 percent of the participants stated they were very or completely willing to personally engage in violence to support or oppose the federal government. Similarly, about 2 percent expressed a willingness to use physical force against everyday people or journalists based on their political viewpoints.

Opinions on these topics differed noticeably when the researchers broke the survey responses down by age and political affiliation. Younger adults under the age of 25 showed less enthusiasm for democratic government than older generations did. This younger demographic was more likely to support authoritarian statements and express a personal willingness to engage in political violence.

Political identity played an expansive role in shaping respondents’ views on democracy and government authority. The researchers compared individuals who identified themselves as Make America Great Again or MAGA Republicans with individuals who identified as strong Democrats. The MAGA Republicans showed lower absolute support for democratic institutions and a higher likelihood of endorsing authoritarian concepts. For example, 32 percent of the MAGA Republicans prioritized a strong leader over democracy, while only about 7 percent of the strong Democrats shared that priority.

While MAGA Republicans were more likely to support the federal government’s use of the military and private militias, they were not more willing to engage in personal political violence than the strong Democrats were. A tiny subgroup of respondents who identified as MAGA supporters but not as Republicans reported surprisingly high levels of personal willingness to commit violence. Approximately 15 to 17 percent of this specific group expressed a readiness to use force either to support or to oppose government actions.

The study design relies on cross-sectional survey data, which means it captures a single snapshot in time. Surveys that address sensitive social topics can also suffer from social desirability bias. People often hesitate to admit extreme views or violent intentions to researchers, which implies the true public willingness to commit political violence might be slightly higher than reported.

The researchers noted that because of how the recurring survey group was maintained over several years, the 2025 analysis did not include any adults between the ages of 18 and 20. Given the shifting civic attitudes observed among the youngest available participants, future research should explore the political beliefs of the newest voters. The study authors plan to monitor these ideological trends to help civil experts develop strategies that reinforce democratic resilience.

The study, “Support for authoritarianism and use of force by and against the federal government in the United States in mid-2025: findings from a nationally representative survey,” was authored by Garen J. Wintemute, Andrew Crawford, Elizabeth A. Tomsich, Mona A. Wright, Aaron B. Shev, Daniel J. Tancredi, Julia P. Schleimer, Veronica A. Pear, and Sonia L. Robinson.