Voters Are Tired of the “War on Woke”
By Abby Springs
Since Joe Biden’s election in 2020, Republicans have attempted to cast the president and his party as moving too far to the left on social justice issues.
For years, congressional Republicans have repeatedly attacked Biden’s policies and proposals as “woke,” targeting everything from climate and racial justice to farming and trade.
Republicans in state houses have mounted a “crusade against wokeness,” banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, critical race theory scholarship, and school library books that discuss Black history and social justice.
And recently, conservatives have manufactured multiple high-profile “anti-woke” campaigns, attacking institutions like Anheuser-Busch, Disney, BlackRock, and Harvard for “woke” practices — namely, for having programs that promote racial justice, LGBTQ+ representation, or climate equity.
The war against social justice is a fundamental cornerstone of the modern conservative movement. As laid out in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 report, “the entire Project 2025 is a plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors.”
However, with five months until the 2024 election, new Data for Progress polling shows that attempts to associate Biden with the term “woke” have fallen flat, with Republican leaders deploying unpopular rhetoric that is out of step with public opinion.
Voters were asked for their perception of President Biden as it relates to the word “woke.” Among all likely voters, a plurality (27%) say that they “do not care whether or not Joe Biden is woke at all,” followed by 21% who say they “do not know what the term ‘woke’ means.”
Among Independents, 60% say they either do not care if Biden is woke or they don’t know what the term means. Only 18% of Independents say that “Joe Biden is woke, and that is a bad thing,” compared with 44% of Republicans.
The survey also indicates that Republicans’ “anti-woke” messaging is out of step with how likely voters generally feel about social justice and equity. When asked to pick the statement that better describes their views, most voters — including majorities of Democrats and Independents — choose statements in support of social justice:
66% of voters say “it is better for everyone when we focus on studying and addressing social injustices,” while 24% say it is worse.
57% of voters say “state governments should not ban public and private sector institutions” from establishing DEI programs,” while 30% say they should.
55% of voters say “discussing topics like diversity, equity, and inclusion brings together people of different identities,” while 37% say these topics are divisive.
54% of voters say “my state should take an active role in addressing racial inequality,” while 36% say “racial inequality is a thing of the past.”
54% of voters say “it's most important that we use language that is respectful and sensitive,” while 36% say “it's most import
There are other signs that voters have tired of the “war on woke” — this year, several culture war bills failed to pass in the Florida Legislature. And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy — two candidates who ran “anti-woke” primary campaigns — could not significantly weaken Trump, who has stated that he does not prefer to use the term “woke” in his messaging.
While Republicans have continued to use the term, polling data does not indicate that Biden is headed toward a major defeat due to “woke” policies in November. Previous Data for Progress research has found that Republican attacks on transgender health care in particular have fallen flat, and our research into swing voters indicates that these voters are primarily worried about Biden’s age and competence, not his liberal policies. Swing voters are most concerned about the economy and prefer policies that address high costs, such as taxing the rich and raising the minimum wage.
Political leaders who defend social justice, racial equity, and diversity and inclusion are in line with the majority of voters — and they should not be worried about voters turning against them to fight the “woke mind virus” this November.
Abby Springs (@abby_springs) is the Press Secretary at Data for Progress.