60% Say Race Relations Have Gotten Worse Since Obama’s Election

As the nation reels from angry protests and deadly violence against police officers, voters are more pessimistic than ever about the state of race relations in this country since the election of its first black president.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely U.S. Voters think race relations are worse since President Obama’s election nearly eight years ago. That’s an 18-point jump from 42% in late 2014 and up from 43% when we first asked the question in August 2013. Just nine percent (9%) believe race relations are better now, little changed from the previous survey, while 28% say they have stayed about the same. {snip}

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Sixty-six percent (66%) of whites and 51% of other minority voters believe that race relations in this country have gotten worse since Obama’s election, but just 38% of blacks agree. Half (49%) of black voters and 32% of other minorities think race relations are about the same. Blacks are also less likely than the others to feel life for young black Americans has gotten worse.

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