If you look at a map of the country displaying the results of the 2024 presidential election, what you will see at first glance is a landscape of red and blue blotches clashing and competing together across all regions of the nation. Based on this map, nation-wide unity seems little more than a far-fetched dream. 

News media and politicians often only focus on this map of red and blue, furthering the narrative that the nation is more divided than unified. But if you break the results down proportionally, the country is actually a sea of purple shades, with no state either red or blue exclusively but a mixture of both. 

According to this map, mass consensus does not seem so unreachable – in fact, it proves that consensus may already exist. 

Recently, the Grand Bargain team unveiled our Grand Bargain WebApp, designed to gauge how the American people feel about our six national objectives and the 35 reforms that act as a roadmap to achieving them. The goal was to determine if, across all walks of life, people were willing to accept a package of reforms they felt were most crucial to them and their families, even if it included some reforms they did not support. 

Prior to the WebApp’s launch, we tested it nationally through the market research company YouGov to preview how Americans responded to the Grand Bargain’s vision for Americans. People from nearly every state weighed in and told us how they felt. 

The result was a wealth of priceless information, signaling that there is wide bipartisan agreement across issues that benefit every American, like improving our education, better and more efficient healthcare, and opportunities for economic growth and mobility. Despite strong opinions from many, there is overwhelming support for the package as a whole, with 85% of all respondents in our latest survey saying they prefer the Grand Bargain path over the country’s current direction. 

Americans who desire a nation where their aspirations are uplifted are not alone. These results show us that the future is still possible. 

This is hope. 

Unity in Unlikely Places 

When we think about the political map of the country, we often view states in terms of “solidly” in one camp or “swinging” between the two. Every election cycle, debates on the country’s political future hinge on the few states that both parties consider up for grabs. States that have traditionally voted for one party are largely ignored by the other – being deemed “too far gone” or too solidly in that party’s camp to bother trying to convince. 

The result: many states being easily carried or entirely ignored by politicians and the American people being carried along the way without much of a say. 

California, New York and Texas, among others, are often written off as single-party states – large in both population and partisanship.

The division between them, though, may just be geographic.

California and New York have gone blue, and Texas has gone red, in presidential elections consistently since the 1990s. However, when presented with the Grand Bargain set of reforms, over 80% of respondents from all three states agreed that it was a better way forward. 

The consensus is not isolated. Across all states where data was available – from “solid” states to “swing” states – support was at least 60%. 

Differences in age and income are other areas where political alignment seems, at times, impossible.

There is a wide array of reporting available documenting political divides between the generations, with older people tending to lean more conservative and young people tending to lean more liberal or be politically unaffiliated (Pew Research Center). Disparities in voter turnout – with older generations going to the polls in significantly higher numbers (over 70%)  than younger generations (less than 50%)  – seem to only underscore how different political attitudes are between generations (USAFacts). 

A vision for a future where all our aspirations are uplifted transcends these generational divides and people of every age stand to benefit, with over 80% of both the youngest (aged 18-29) and the oldest respondents (aged 65 and older) expressing support for the Grand Bargain. 

Differences in income are politically variable but often correspond to differences in education, opportunities and geographical locations. Legislative silos use this to their advantage, pitting high and low-income earners against each other on specific issues like taxes or social safety net programs. The Grand Bargain framework brings together everyone across the wage-earning spectrum, with over 80% of both the highest earners ($350,000 and above) and the lowest earners ($30,000 and below) supporting its roadmap for the country. 

Respondents across different levels of employment also showed overwhelming support for the Grand Bargain path, with over 80% agreement across the board: 84% of full-time and part-time workers, 80% of those unemployed and 87% of those retired. 

Whether one earns a little or a lot, is employed or unemployed, everyone believes their life can improve under a system that addresses interconnected problems affecting all households across the country. 

Priorities Above Polarity 

Agreement across the obvious divides of age, geography and work may seem startling. The Grand Bargain approach renders those differences irrelevant by offering a practical package that provides real solutions to real problems. Even with specific ideological positions, people come together on the issues that most of us consider priorities – especially issues we believe to be most pressing at this moment. 

Education is an example of this. With around only 60-75% of all elementary school students being minimally literate and only 35% of students reading proficiently or above upon reaching their senior year (National Assessment Governing Board), the current education system is failing America’s youth. Many are feeling those failures. 

Amongst the YouGov respondents, education reforms were the most supported proposals by Republican, Democrats and Independents, with each reform sharing at least 80% cross-partisan agreement. What’s more, reforms in education have been consistently ranked high across data collected between May and September of 2025, as opposed to less supported reforms in taxes and energy. 

Financial well-being is another area where consensus crosses partisan lines. Most of us hope for career stability and success, yet nearly 70% of Americans say they currently experience financial uncertainty and over 60% say that money worries keep them up at night (Northwestern Mutual “Planning & Progress Study”). The rising cost of housing and the lack of access to affordable childcare are two contributors to the current economic anxiety of many throughout the nation. Long-term prosperity, meanwhile, seems wholly out-of-reach. 

The Grand Bargain proposals for economic mobility and growth were met with at least 60% support across parties, and over 70% support for reforms in job training and security and small business creation. As with education, bipartisan support for these reforms has remained high over several months of data collection.

Finally, nothing is more important than physical and mental health, and a majority of YouGov respondents agreed that the current system is failing to keep the country healthy. Access to affordable, efficient healthcare mitigates major illnesses by preventing them or treating them early. Yet, partisan interests often inhibit it from being either affordable or efficient, resulting in over 27 million Americans being uninsured as of 2024 (Center for Disease Control). This is not only a difference in quality of life – for some, healthcare means survival.

The Grand Bargain’s slate of healthcare reforms were each met with at 60% support of YouGov respondents – an indicator that most Americans want the system to promote positive health outcomes rather than managing negative ones. 

No matter the preference for individual issues, the majority of respondents still preferred a package that uplifted the issues that mattered most to them – like education, economic mobility and growth, and healthcare –  even if it meant accepting proposals they disagreed with. These findings suggest that individual differences are not insurmountable; our shared priorities are far more important to each of us and are the means by which we can all be brought together. 

This is the Beginning

The issues that separate us are not new, they are well-known. Like a roadblock, divisions often stop dialogue right in its tracks before any meaningful discussion or solution-making can occur. Politicians and influencers exploit these divisions for their own gain. 

Yet, the YouGov results confirm that Americans are tired of partisanship and reality-show style politics being the barrier to their aspirations. They want the system to be the way for real, tangible progress with pathways to improve their lives. Our lives. 

The avenue for unity already exists. The Grand Bargain Project is the roadmap to get us all there. 

This is just the beginning. 

The data referenced in this article was gathered through research commissioned by the Center for Collaborative Democracy and conducted by YouGov. Research conducted August 22, 2025 - August 29, 2025. Responses reflect a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults.