Poll: Almost one-third of Americans are fearful that civil war may be looming

Democrats are more fearful than Republicans that a civil war may be brewing in the U.S., according to a poll released Wednesday by Rasmussen Reports.

Nearly one in three or 31 percent of voters said they believe it's likely that the U.S. will experience a second civil war within five years. Of those, 11 percent said they think a civil war is "very likely."

Fifty-nine percent said they fear that political violence is coming from those who oppose President Donald Trump's policies, according to the report. And 33 percent are very concerned about the possibility of violence.

The survey's results aren't dissimilar to those during former President Barack Obama's second year in office which found that 53 percent of voters were "somewhat concerned" that people opposed to his policies would resort to violence.

But the good news is that 59 percent of those polled consider a civil war unlikely and 29 percent said it's "not likely at all."

What are some of the other results?

Thirty-seven percent of Democrats were more afraid of a looming civil war than Republicans at 32 percent. Voters not affiliated with a major party are the least fearful at 26 percent.

Women and voters under 40 are more concerned about the chances of a civil war than men and older voters.

How was the poll taken?

The poll, which was conducted by telephone and online on June 21 and 24, asked three questions of 1,000 likely U.S. voters.

1. How concerned are you that those opposed to President Trump’s policies will resort to violence?
2. How concerned are you that those critical of the media’s coverage of President Trump will resort to violence?
3. How likely is that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years?

The survey's margin of error was 3 points with a 95 percent level of confidence.

What else?

A telephone survey of 2,500 likely voters conducted June 17 -21 showed that 42 percent of voters believe the country "is headed in the right direction," according to a Rasmussen poll released Monday.