Exclusive: New poll finds most Americans fear civil war and democratic decline
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A new national poll from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights shows Americans are deeply anxious about democracy, rising extremism and worsening race relations — offering one of the starkest portraits yet of a country on edge.
The big picture: The poll, conducted in early November, comes as civil-rights groups warn that federal and state rollbacks are weakening protections, erasing public data, and reshaping how race and equity are treated in government, schools and the workplace.
By the numbers: The Leadership Conference finds Americans increasingly alarmed by civil-rights backsliding.
- 57% fear the U.S. is on a path toward civil war.
- 60% say race relations are worsening — up sharply from last year.
- 69% of nonwhite voters worry about white supremacy, also up from 2024.
- 88% of American voters continue to agree (66% strongly agree) that our diversity makes us stronger, unchanged from 2023.
Maya Wiley, the group's president and CEO, says the findings mirror a broader erosion of public data and civil-rights protections documented in the separate Blackout Report.
- "This poll is a blinking warning light for the country," Wiley told Axios. "Voters are afraid of where we're headed."
Between the lines: The findings echo a recent PRRI/Brookings survey, which found Black and Latino Americans reporting record levels of alienation and pessimism — with majorities saying they now feel like "strangers in their own country."
- In both surveys, voters say cuts to civil-rights programs, immigration crackdowns and attacks on "woke" institutions are shaping their sense of national decline.
What they're saying: Wiley said the trends are part of a familiar pattern in American history.
- "We've seen rollbacks before — after Reconstruction and after the civil-rights movement — always with new language and new fears," she said. "The terms change. The strategy doesn't."
- And she warned the consequences extend beyond Black Americans.
- "These attacks start with us — but they never end with us. That's the danger," Wiley said.
Zoom out: Voters across the ideological spectrum share pessimism about the country's direction — though for different reasons. Conservatives point to immigration and the economy, while moderates and liberals cite democracy, extremism and civil rights.
- Supreme Court approval has also fallen sharply, especially among voters of color and political moderates.
Methodology: The Leadership Conference poll surveyed 1,003 likely midterm voters, plus an oversample of 100 Asian American voters, which Wiley said was necessary to capture communities often underrepresented in national polling. It was conducted Oct. 30–Nov. 6 by Brilliant Corners with a margin of error ±3.1 points.
