This post is going to look at how American racial/ethnic groups differ in political ideology. Below, you can see charts displaying the results of a wide variety of polls on many topics. But first, here is a summary of what they find:

Compared to Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics, favor larger government and a less free market with more regulations and higher taxes. Minorities also favor higher levels of spending on helping the poor, healthcare, education and welfare. By contrast, White Americans favor more spending on the military.

On social issues, Whites are sometimes more liberal than non-Whites. For instance, Whites report stronger support for free speech and gay marriage. Polling is somewhat mixed on abortion, but most of the it suggests that Whites are more pro choice than non-Whites. There aren’t many polls on drug policy, and what does exist displays mixed results. Unsurprisingly, non-Whites take more liberal views than White on race relations and immigration.

On “science” issues, there is an interesting divergence. Whites are more likely than non Whites to believe in evolution but less likely to believe in man made climate change.

In terms of foreign policy, Whites favor more military spending than non Whites, they were more likely to support the Iraq war than non-Whites, and Whites are more likely than Blacks to list “terrorism” as a top political concern.

When asked to list the most important political problems of the day, Whites are more likely than Blacks to say dissatisfaction with government, immigration, and the federal budget, while Blacks are substantially more likely to say unemployment, race relations, poverty, and crime.

Economics

The Size of Government

Pew (2015; 2012a; 2012b)

According to pew polling:

Taxes

Smith (2005)

Reuters/Ipsos

Reuters/Ipsos

Spending

Smith (2005)

Debt

36% of Whites, 60% of Blacks, and 66% of Hispanics agree with the statement “The government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper in debt”.

http://www.people-press.org/values-questions/q40f/government-should-help-more-needy-people-even-if-it-means-deeper-debt/#race

Asian Americans are just as likely as the US in general to support raising taxes on high earners in order to reduce the budget. (65%) They are less likely than average to support reducing the budget with spending cuts only (35% vs 41%)

http://www.naasurvey.com/resources/Home/NAAS12-sep25-issues.pdf

Minimum Wage

Pew (2014)

Health Care

Gallup (2015)

Pew (2014)

Reutors/Ispos

Social Issues

Free Speech

Smith (2005)

Pew (2015)

YouGov (2015)

Drugs

Pew (2013)

Smith (2005)

Reuters/Ipsos

Abortion

Smith (2005)

Pew 2016

“2-to-1: 60% say it (abortion) should be illegal in all or most cases, while just 35% say it should be legal. By contrast, 51% of U.S.-born Latinos think abortion should be legal, while 43% think it should be illegal.” – Pew 2014

“Two-thirds (67%) of black Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 30% disagree.” – Pew 2012

Gay Marriage

Smith (2005)

Pew (2015)

Gallup

Race Relations

Pew (2015)

Pew (2015)

Gallup

Immigration

Gallup

Pew (2016)

“Science” Issues

Climate Change

Enten (2014)

Pew (2015)

Evolution

Pew (2014)

Foreign Policy

Military Spending

Smith (2005)

War in Iraq

Gallup (2004)

Importance of Different Issues

Gallup (2015)