Majority in new poll: ‘Deep state’ is manipulating policy

A majority of Americans believes a faction of unelected officials is orchestrating policy in Washington, D.C., according to a new poll.

The Monmouth University Polling Institute found that 74 percent of respondents believe in a “deep state” when it is described as a collection of unelected officials running policy. Twenty-one percent said they do not believe this kind of group exists.

{mosads}The poll notes that more than 7 in 10 Americans polled in each political group, Republican, Democrat and independent, believe in a deep state. Thirty-one percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents say they believe a deep state “definitely exists,” while 19 percent of Democrats believe this.

Pollsters also found that a majority of those polled, 63 percent, said they were “not familiar” with the term deep state, however. Thirteen percent said they were “very familiar,” while 24 percent said they were “somewhat familiar.”

“We usually expect opinions on the operation of government to shift depending on which party is in charge,” Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said in a statement. “But there’s an ominous feeling by Democrats and Republicans alike that a ‘Deep State’ of unelected operatives are pulling the levers of power.”

The survey of 803 adults was conduced from March 2 to 5. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.