Above, demonstrators last month confront police during a protest following the release of a video showing a Chicago police officer killing a teenager in 2014.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Americans are divided by party over their views of the most important events of 2015, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows, illustrating the split between Democrats and Republicans over their domestic political priorities.
Asked to rank the most personally important or defining news events of the year, the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., were among the top three for both Democrats and Republicans.
Beyond that, Democrats’ and Republicans’ top news stories reflect their views on race issues and gun safety, the poll showed.
While 30% of Democrats said “mass shootings” like those in Charleston, S.C., and others were among the most important or defining news stories of the year, only 10% of Republicans did. Similarly, 22% of Democrats said the debate and protests over the use of force by police was one of the most personally important news events of the year, compared to 7% of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 17% of Republicans said the nuclear deal between Iran and a group of world powers was a most important event, a view shared by only 4% of Democrats.
The poll asked 253 respondents to name “the one or two most important or defining news events of the year to you personally.”
The results of the poll illustrate the partisan gulf between Republicans’ and Democrats’ political concerns, said Fred Yang, a Democratic pollster with Hart Research, which conducted the poll for The Wall Street Journal and NBC News.
While both Democrats and Republicans listed two incidents of terrorism as the top news events, the parties’ voters are split on issues of solely domestic import.
“Partisanship stops at the water’s edge,” said Mr. Yang.
Democrats are more inclined to see in the shootings at Charleston and elsewhere a crisis stemming from the easy availability of firearms, Mr. Yang said.
“Republicans aren’t – or that’s not their priority,” he said. “If you’re a Republican, you’re more oriented toward foreign policy or international issues.”
On the debate and protests about the use of force by police, Democrats see a racial issue.
“Given who Democrats are, demographically and attitudinally, that’s just something they’re going to be concerned about,” Mr. Yang said. For Republicans, “that is less on their radar.”
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2016 Election Calendar | WSJ/NBC Polls | 2016 Poll Standings
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