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How Missourians View Various Issues, According to Findings from 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll

by Kenneth Warren, Ph.D. on 03/18/2025

03/18/2025

Kenneth Warren, Ph.D., provides expert analysis of the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll results.

In the February 2024 SLU/YouGov Poll, we asked Missouri’s likely voters what they thought should be the top policy priority of Missouri state government. In the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll we asked the same question, finding that Missouri’s likely voters pretty much gave the same response with slight variations, saying in both polls that the economy should be the top priority with 42% saying so in February 2024 and 47% in February 2025, followed by health care in our February 2024 poll, 17% (tied with infrastructure), and 19% in February 2025.  Republicans were found to be much more likely than Democrats in our February 2024 and 2025 polls to believe the economy should be Missouri state government’s top priority, 62% to 21% in February 2024 and 66% to 28% in February 2025. 

Likely voters' responses to 'Which of the following do you think should be the TOP priority of the Missouri state government?': 47% Economy, 19% Health care, 13% Education, 14% Infrastructure, and 6% Other.

Likely voters' responses to 'Which of the following do you think should be the TOP priority of the Missouri state government?': 47% Economy, 19% Health care, 13% Education, 14% Infrastructure, and 6% Other.

In the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll, all educational levels answered that the economy should be Missouri’s top priority at around 50%, except for those with post-graduate education that listed it at only 31%. Since those with the highest educational level on average also have the highest incomes, it was not surprising that those in our poll reporting having the highest income (above $100,000) prioritized the economy significantly lower at 34% compared to 54% for those making $50,000 - $100,000, and 49% for those having incomes below $50,000. Compared to the economy, Missouri’s likely voters did not prioritize any other policy priority very high in February 2025 with healthcare coming in second, 19%, education, 13%, and infrastructure, 14%. It is interesting that those with post-graduate education prioritized education just 1% below the economy at 30% with other educational groupings not coming close to prioritizing education so high; four-year college degree, 13%; some college, 11%, and high school or less, 8%.

It is understandable that the plurality of Missouri’s likely voters in our poll felt that the economy should be given top priority by the State of Missouri since these Missourians believe both Missouri’s economy and the U.S. economy rest on shaky grounds. In the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll, only 1% of our respondents rated Missouri’s economy as excellent, 20% rated it good, 77% rated it fair (51%) to poor (26%). Crosstabs revealed that regardless of age, race, income, educational achievement, or area of state, the ratings were quite similar. Republicans were found to rank Missouri’s economy better than Democrats by more than a 2:1 margin, 28% to 12%, but both Republicans and Democrats were quite negative on how they perceived the condition of Missouri’s economy. Men were found to rate Missouri’s economy good to excellent more than women, 27% to 15% although only 1% of both men and women rated Missouri’s economy as excellent.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...The Economy in the State of Missouri?': 1% Excellent, 20% Good, 51% Fair, 26% Poor, and 2% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 1% Excellent, 11% Good, 50% Fair, 34% Poor, and 4% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 2% Excellent, 26% Good, 51% Fair, 19% Poor, and 2% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...The Economy in the State of Missouri?': 1% Excellent, 20% Good, 51% Fair, 26% Poor, and 2% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 1% Excellent, 11% Good, 50% Fair, 34% Poor, and 4% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  2% Excellent, 26% Good, 51% Fair, 19% Poor, and 2% Not sure.

As negative as Missouri’s likely voters in our poll ranked Missouri’s economy, they felt that the U.S. economy is even worse with only 1% rating the U.S. economy as excellent and only 13% more rating it as good. 84% rated it as fair (46%) to poor (38%). Interestingly, respondents in our poll ranked the U.S. economy similarly to respondents in a recent Quinnipiac poll where only 1% rated the U.S. economy as excellent, 22% said good, 45% said fair or “not so good”, while 31% answered poor. In our poll no remarkable differences were found among the various demographics except for gender. Men were over twice as likely to give the U.S. a good to excellent rating than women, 20% to 9%, although once again both genders gave dismal ratings to the U.S. economy with 79% of men and 90% of women ranking the U.S. economy as fair to poor.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...The Economy in the United States?': 1% Excellent, 13% Good, 46% Fair, 38% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 1% Excellent, 14% Good, 39% Fair, 45% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 2% Excellent, 14% Good, 47% Fair, 36% Poor, and 1% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...The Economy in the United States?': 1% Excellent, 13% Good, 46% Fair, 38% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 1% Excellent, 14% Good, 39% Fair, 45% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  2% Excellent, 14% Good, 47% Fair, 36% Poor, and 1% Not sure.

In our 2025 February SLU/YouGov Poll, we asked Missouri’s likely voters to give their opinion on a host of other issues. The following summarizes and highlights the most significant findings. Respondents were fairly divided on how they perceived the crime problem in their community with 8% saying excellent and 36% saying good, while 32% said fair and another 21% said poor. Black and all non-white respondents ranked the crime problem far worse than white respondents with 75% of Black respondents ranking it fair to poor and 66% of all non-white respondents saying fair to poor, while significantly fewer white respondents did (50%).

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Crime in your community?': 8% Excellent, 36% Good, 32% Fair, 21% Poor, and 3% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 6% Excellent, 32% Good, 35% Fair, 23% Poor, and 3% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 9% Excellent, 46% Good, 26% Fair, 16% Poor, and 2% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Crime in your community?': 8% Excellent, 36% Good, 32% Fair, 21% Poor, and 3% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 6% Excellent, 32% Good, 35% Fair, 23% Poor, and 3% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  9% Excellent, 46% Good, 26% Fair, 16% Poor, and 2% Not sure.

Respondents in our survey were also fairly split on the condition of race relations in their community with 52% perceiving race relations as good (42%) to excellent (10%) with 42% saying fair (29%) to poor (13%). Black respondents were much more inclined to say race relations were fair (50%) to poor (25%) than white respondents with only 38% saying race relations were fair (26%) to poor (12%). And Democrats were far more likely to view race relations as fair (46%) to poor (19%) than Republicans where only 14% rated race relations as fair with another 7% saying poor. Those living in rural Missouri where few Black respondents live also were much less likely to perceive race relations as fair to poor than those living in the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas where a much large percentage of mixed races live.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Race relations in your community?': 10% Excellent, 42% Good, 29% Fair, 13% Poor, and 5% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 3% Excellent, 22% Good, 46% Fair, 19% Poor, and 10% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 15% Excellent, 61% Good, 14% Fair, 7% Poor, and 4% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Race relations in your community?': 10% Excellent, 42% Good, 29% Fair, 13% Poor, and 5% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 3% Excellent, 22% Good, 46% Fair, 19% Poor, and 10% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  15% Excellent, 61% Good, 14% Fair, 7% Poor, and 4% Not sure.

Roads and infrastructure have long been viewed negatively by Missourians. Our SLU/YouGov poll again found only 23% ranking Missouri’s roads and infrastructure as good (20%) to excellent (3%) with 77% saying fair (43%) to poor (34%). Republicans were more than twice as likely to say roads and infrastructure were good (27%) to excellent (4%) than Democrats, good (12%) to excellent (2%). Interestingly, those with post-graduate education were much less likely to rank Missouri’s roads and infrastructure as good (7%) to excellent (5%) than those with the least educational achievement with 26% saying good and 2% saying excellent. These findings are not surprising since Missouri ranks 48th on revenue per mile due to Missouri having one of the lowest fuel taxes in the nation serving an expansive highway system, while it spends the 4th least per capita on highways and roads at $466 per capita.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Roads and infrastructure in the State of Missouri?': 3% Excellent, 20% Good, 43% Fair, 34% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 2% Excellent, 12% Good, 43% Fair, 41% Poor, and 2% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 4% Excellent, 27% Good, 42% Fair, 28% Poor, and 0% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'How would you rate the following...Roads and infrastructure in the State of Missouri?': 3% Excellent, 20% Good, 43% Fair, 34% Poor, and 1% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 2% Excellent, 12% Good, 43% Fair, 41% Poor, and 2% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  4% Excellent, 27% Good, 42% Fair, 28% Poor, and 0% Not sure.

In the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll, we asked Missouri’s likely voters how they felt about an array of public policy proposals. We asked: should the federal government expand the Child Tax Credit from a maximum of $2,000 per child to $5,000 per child? Fifty-four percent agreed that the federal government should; 20% disagreed with 27% not sure. Democrats were more likely to agree (70%) than Republicans (46%). 

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you agree or disagree with the following statements...The Federal Government should expand the Child Tax Credit from a maximum of $2,000 per child to $5,000 per child?': 54% Agree, 20% Disagree, and 27% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 70% Agree, 9% Disagree, and 21% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 46% Agree, 24% Disagree, and 30% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you agree or disagree with the following statements...The Federal Government should expand the Child Tax Credit from a maximum of $2,000 per child to $5,000 per child?': 54% Agree, 20% Disagree, and 27% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 70% Agree, 9% Disagree, and 21% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  46% Agree, 24% Disagree, and 30% Not sure.

We asked if they would support or oppose eliminating Missouri’s state income tax. Fifty-two percent supported, while 25% opposed with 23% not sure. As expected, Republicans were much more likely to support (73%) than Democrats (23%).

Likely voters' responses to 'Would you support or oppose eliminating Missouri's state income tax?': 52% Support, 25% Oppose, and 23% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 23% Support, 47% Oppose, and 30% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 73% Support, 8% Oppose, and 19% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Would you support or oppose eliminating Missouri's state income tax?': 52% Support, 25% Oppose, and 23% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 23% Support, 47% Oppose, and 30% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  73% Support, 8% Oppose, and 19% Not sure.

We then asked: if the State of Missouri eliminated the state income tax, which of the following would you be most willing to tax to make up for lost revenue? 15% said professional services, 13% said real estate transfers, 13% said inheritances, 10% opted for personal care services, 3% said auto and home repair services, while a large plurality, 46% said they were not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'If the State of Missouri eliminated the state income tax, which of the following would you be most willing to tax to make up for lost revenue?': 3% Auto and home repair services, 15% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 10% Personal care services (for example, salons), 13% Real estate transfers, 13% Inheritances, and 46% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 4% Auto and home repair services, 12% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 5% Personal care services (for example, salons), 15% Real estate transfers, 25% Inheritances, and 39% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 3% Auto and home repair services, 18% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 15% Personal care services (for example, salons), 12% Real estate transfers, 6% Inheritances, and 46% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'If the State of Missouri eliminated the state income tax, which of the following would you be most willing to tax to make up for lost revenue?': 3% Auto and home repair services, 15% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 10% Personal care services (for example, salons), 13% Real estate transfers, 13% Inheritances, and 46% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 4% Auto and home repair services, 12% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 5% Personal care services (for example, salons), 15% Real estate transfers, 25% Inheritances, and 39% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  3% Auto and home repair services, 18% Professional services (for example, accounting and legal), 15% Personal care services (for example, salons), 12% Real estate transfers, 6% Inheritances, and 46% Not sure.

We also asked Missouri likely voters whether they favored or opposed charging someone with first-degree murder if they knowingly distributed fentanyl to a person that caused that person’s death. Seventy-eight percent favored, 12% opposed, while 10% answered not sure. Ninety-one percent of Republicans favored with only 4% opposed and 5% not sure, while 59% of Democrats favored with 21% opposed and 19% not sure. 

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Charging someone with first-degree murder if they knowingly distributed fentanyl to a person that caused that person's death?': 78% Favor, 12% Oppose, and 10% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 59% Favor, 21% Oppose, and 19% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 91% Favor, 4% Oppose, and 5% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Charging someone with first-degree murder if they knowingly distributed fentanyl to a person that caused that person's death?': 78% Favor, 12% Oppose, and 10% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 59% Favor, 21% Oppose, and 19% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  91% Favor, 4% Oppose, and 5% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Imprisoning someone for 5 to 10 years if their manufacturing or possession of fentanyl endangers a child?': 87% Favor, 4% Oppose, and 8% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 78% Favor, 6% Oppose, and 15% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 95% Favor, 2% Oppose, and 3% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Imprisoning someone for 5 to 10 years if their manufacturing or possession of fentanyl endangers a child?': 87% Favor, 4% Oppose, and 8% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 78% Favor, 6% Oppose, and 15% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  95% Favor, 2% Oppose, and 3% Not sure.

Sixty-eight percent of Missouri’s likely voters in our SLU/YouGov poll favored requiring law enforcement agencies to report criminal offenders’ citizenship status to the Missouri Department of Public Safety, while 18% opposed and 13% were not sure. Again, opinion differed dramatically by party with 91% of Republicans favoring and only 3% opposing with another 6% not sure, while 39% of the Democrats favored with 41% opposed and 20% answered not sure. A perfect downward favorability pattern was found from the lowest educational level to the highest; high school or less (75%), some college (73%), four-year college degree (64%), post-graduate education (52%).

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Requiring law enforcement agencies to report criminal offenders' citizenship status to the Missouri Department of Public Safety?': 68% Favor, 18% Oppose, and 13% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 39% Favor, 41% Oppose, and 20% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 91% Favor, 3% Oppose, and 6% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Requiring law enforcement agencies to report criminal offenders' citizenship status to the Missouri Department of Public Safety?': 68% Favor, 18% Oppose, and 13% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 39% Favor, 41% Oppose, and 20% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  91% Favor, 3% Oppose, and 6% Not sure.

Fifty-two percent in our poll favored providing full-tuition scholarships to public colleges for first responders and their legal dependents with 24% opposing and 23% not sure. Those 18-29 years old (62%), Black respondents (74%), and Democrats (62%) were much more likely to favor this proposal than those over 65 years old (48%), white respondents (50%), or Republicans (48%).

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Providing full-tuition scholarships to public colleges for first responders (for example, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics) and their legal dependents?': 52% Favor, 24% Oppose, and 23% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 62% Favor, 20% Oppose, and 17% Not sure. Republican voters' responses: 48% Favor, 27% Oppose, and 25% Not sure.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following policies...Providing full-tuition scholarships to public colleges for first responders (for example, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics) and their legal dependents?': 52% Favor, 24% Oppose, and 23% Not sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 62% Favor, 20% Oppose, and 17% Not sure. Republican voters' responses:  48% Favor, 27% Oppose, and 25% Not sure.

Missouri State legislators have proposed that some police departments be controlled by the State of Missouri (for example, by a Governor-appointed board) instead of by local government (for example, by a mayor-appointed board), so we asked Missouri likely voters to voice their opinion. 35% preferred state control for the Kansas City Police Department, while 48% favored local control with 16% not sure. Republicans were much more likely to favor state control (51%) than Democrats (13%). The same question was asked specifically about the St. Louis Police Department.  We asked respondents to tell us who they preferred to control the St. Louis Police Department, the State of Missouri or the City of St. Louis. They answered, the state (39%), the City (47%), not sure (14%).  58% of Republicans favored state control, while only 13% of Democrats did. We also asked who should control the Springfield Police Department. 25% said the state, 55% favored local control with 20% not sure. Thirty-seven percent of Republicans favored state control and only 10% of Democrats. In general, according to our poll, Missouri likely voters prefer police departments to be controlled locally rather than by the State of Missouri by a wide margin, 68% to 22% with 11% not sure.

Likely Missouri voters' responses to the following survey question: Missouri state legislators have proposed police departments in some Missouri cities be controlled by the state (for example, a board that includes the mayor and members approved by the governor) instead of locally (for example, a board appointed by the mayor). Who do you prefer to control the following police departments in the state of Missouri: Kansas City—35% state, 48% local, 16% not sure; St. Louis—39% state, 47% local, 14% not sure; Springfield—25% state, 55% local, 20% not sure; Your local department—22% state, 68% local, 11% not sure.

Likely Missouri voters' responses to the following survey question: Missouri state legislators have proposed police departments in some Missouri cities be controlled by the state (for example, a board that includes the mayor and members approved by the governor) instead of locally (for example, a board appointed by the mayor). Who do you prefer to control the following police departments in the state of Missouri: Kansas City—35% state, 48% local, 16% not sure; St. Louis—39% state, 47% local, 14% not sure; Springfield—25% state, 55% local, 20% not sure; Your local department—22% state, 68% local, 11% not sure.

This analysis is based on data from the February 2025 SLU/YouGov Poll and reflects the opinion of the author.