MADISON – Approaching the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, two-thirds of American voters say they are proud of the United States – but are divided evenly over their optimism for the country’s future.

That’s according to a new Marquette University Law School poll of U.S. voters conducted this month.

The Milwaukee-based pollster has a series of surveys planned for the days surrounding the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The first set was conducted June 9-15, interviewing 1,514 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.

Here are some takeaways for the first two, which measured subjects including confidence in institutions, voting preferences, presidential approval and attitudes toward the country and its founders.

66% of voters are proud of the U.S., but parties differ widely

Two-thirds of voters surveyed said they are very or somewhat proud of who the U.S. is as a country. But broken down by party, just 49% of Democrats expressed pride in the country compared with 88% of Republicans.

The percentage also fell under 50% for voters ages 18-29 and for Black voters. The groups among whom 70% or more were proud of the U.S. were Republicans, white voters and voters who did not identify as Black or Hispanic, and voters age 45 and older.

But majorities among all demographics polled, and 75% overall, believe America is better than most other countries.

A little more than half the country is optimistic about its future

Of those surveyed, 52% described themselves as very or somewhat optimistic about the future of democracy in the U.S. – the bulk of which were “somewhat.”

There’s also a partisan split present in this measure, but it’s less stark: 66% of Republicans are optimistic compared with 41% of Democrats. Less than half of voters age 44 and under are optimistic about the country’s future as a democracy, while 55% of voters age 45-59 and 60% of those age 60 and older are optimistic.

In this category, divisions among age and partisan identification were more significant than differences among racial demographics.

Franklin, Washington top most favored founders

Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are viewed most favorably by voters among eight figures from the country’s founding era.

Franklin’s net favorability is 75%, followed by Washington at 68% and Jefferson at 60%. John Adams, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton are all near an even split, and Aaron Burr and Benedict Arnold have net negative ratings.

Overall, conservatives had more favorable attitudes toward all of the founders than liberals did.

Trump approval still underwater, Democrats show congressional advantage

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating remains at 38% – effectively unchanged since April, and down 10 points from the beginning of the year.

Asked about upcoming congressional elections in November, 47% of registered voters said they plan to vote for a Democrat, compared to 45% who plan to vote for a Republican. Among likely voters – categorized as those who say they are certain to vote – the gap widens to 53% for Democrats and 45% for Republicans.

Americans trust doctors, military, police and schools

Pollsters asked voters about their confidence in 18 institutions, just six of which had net positive ratings. At the top of the list were doctors, with a 64% net confidence rating, followed by the military at 38%, police at 24%, local schools at 21%, colleges and universities at 12% and state and local election administrators at 10%.

In the middle of the pack were local news media, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Food and Drug Administration, state legislatures, the U.S. Department of Justice, business leaders and the American people in electing leaders.

Facebook had the lowest net confidence rating, at -66%, followed by companies developing artificial intelligence at -47%, Congress at -43%, the national news media at -31% and the executive branch of the federal government at -30%.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette poll reveals American pride, least liked 1776 figures

Reporting by Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

By Jessie Opoien, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network