BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A survey conducted for Thursday night’s “Community Conversation: Political Pulse Live!” revealed some common ground and sticking points among a group of Lehigh Valley supervoters.
Almost 200 people from across the Lehigh Valley responded to the survey organized by Lehigh Valley Public Media. More than 85% of them said they vote in every election.
That poll found respondents – despite party differences – agreed on some of the biggest issues driving them to the polls.
Results show 98% of the 192 respondents identified government accountability as “very important” to them or their “most important” issue.
The results held true across party lines. Government accountability was the top issue for 49% of independents, 47% of Democrats and 44% of Republicans who completed the "Political Pulse Live!" survey.
Eighty percent of Democrats and three-quarters of Republicans who responded said foreign affairs are at least “very important.”
“If there are no checks on this administration, our democratic institutions will fail – institutions that we have counted on to keep us secure,” a self-identified Democratic respondent said.
One Republican respondent said they are counting on a Democratic-led Congress to “rein in” President Donald Trump.
"Trump has damaged Democracy i(n) ways that I never dreamed were possible. I fear for the future,” they wrote. “Republican legislators have not held him accountable so they must be defeated.”
Party affiliations were a bit more stark when respondents were asked about healthcare, the job market and data centers.
Data center regulation caused the biggest split between voters of the two major parties. Three-quarters of Democratic respondents said data center regulations are very important, including about 10% who said it was their top issue; just 1 of the 25 Republican respondents called it their top issue, and only 32% said regulations were very important.
The survey also found that the race at the top of the ballot wasn’t the top priority for most local voters.
Just over one-fifth of respondents ranked the race between Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Stacy Garrity as the most important. Almost three times as many people – 61% – said the Lehigh Valley’s congressional race is the most important on the ballot.
Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie is seeking a second term against Democratic challenger Bob Brooks.
Nine percent of respondents ranked a state Senate race as the most important, while 8% said a state House race was most important, the survey found.
Tune in to PBS39 at 6 p.m. Thursday to watch “Community Conversation: Political Pulse Live!” as it happens. The show will be broadcast from the Northampton Community College Fowler Family Southside Center in Bethlehem. It will also be simulcast on LVPM.org, and can be watched in the YouTube player at the top of the page.
The event will be moderated by Lehigh Valley Public Media reporter Tom Shortell and feature panelists Chris Borick, a Lehigh University political scientist, Ahmed Rahman, a Lehigh University associate professor of economics, and Shawn Hughes, the vice president of client retention at BSI, a Bethlehem-based corporate benefits consulting firm.