Voters Support Private Equity Reform

By Evangel Penumaka

In an October 2021 poll of 1,157 likely voters, Data for Progress tested support for the Stop Wall Street From Looting Act, a bill reintroduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren on October 20. The bill includes comprehensive reforms to hold the private equity industry accountable for its actions, provide transparency for investors, and protect workers from predatory practices. 

We showed respondents a brief description of the bill before asking their support. A majority of likely voters support the bill by a +30-point margin. This support extends among Democrats and Independents, by a +66 point margin and a +36 point margin, respectively.

We also presented respondents with common arguments from supporters and opponents of regulating private equity. We find that a majority of likely voters continue to support the bill by a +22-point margin after seeing common arguments in opposition to these types of reforms. This includes support from Democrats by a +62-point margin and Independents by a +18-point margin.

The Stop Wall Street Looting Act would be a transformative step to reform the industry into one that is fair and transparent, and to close loopholes that have benefited private equity firms over working people — a step supported by the majority of likely voters. 

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Evangel Penumaka (@evangelpenumaka) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.

Methodology

From October 15 to 17, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,157 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points. 

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