Politics

Poll: Politics shapes patriotism, from the US to the UK

Published

3 months ago

July 11, 2026

What does it mean to be patriotic? It depends on a country’s politics.

Pride in one’s country is itself relatively common, according to new results from an international edition of The Blue Light News Poll: Majorities of adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, France and Germany all say they are proud of their country.

But that pride looks different in each country. Expressions of patriotism are shaped by a nation’s history and politics. And in a complex political moment when voters’ relationship with each other, their political parties and their countries continues to shift — and nationalist populist movements continue to rise, claiming patriotism as their own — what it means to be patriotic is evolving.

In America, the flag has become a defining feature of national pride, a symbol increasingly claimed by Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. In Canada, people find pride in their political leaders as they seek to counter Washington’s influence. And in Germany, the country’s Nazi history continues to loom over current debates about nationalism.

The survey, conducted by the independent London-based firm Public First, underscores how cultural and political debates shape subtle differences in patriotism across six major democracies of the West.

Tensions over immigration and culture have roiled Europe and the U.S., with right-wing parties often making national identity central to their political message. The symbols and rituals of patriotism also distinguish countries from one another — from debates over what students are taught in schools and whether they should be required to sing the national anthem, to differences in displays of the flag.

Here’s what stands out for each country.

Pluralities of adults in other countries — and 49 percent of Americans — say the U.S. has the most patriotic citizens. That’s partly because of its overt displays of patriotism, with Americans historically placing national flags on their lawns and outside restaurants and businesses, and leaders frequently wearing flag paraphernalia.

That embrace of the flag stands out. The U.S. flag has long been a revered symbol in the country, and most Americans (51 percent) say they own the national flag. That’s significantly more than adults in the other countries — for instance, just 22 percent of U.K. adults say they own a Union Jack and just 27 percent in France say they own a flag.

Still, the American flag has become somewhat partisan.

Trump and his MAGA movement have made patriotism and nationalism central to Republican politics, and more than 70 percent of his 2024 voters say they own an American flag. Just 44 percent of those who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris say the same. Trump voters are also more likely (52 percent) than Harris voters (33 percent) to say that displaying a national flag outside your house is considered an act of patriotism.

Near-majorities of adults in the U.S., the U.K., France, Spain and Canada say their country should be proud of its history. Germany is the outlier, due to its Nazi past.

Just 24 percent of Germans say the country should be proud of its history. A majority — 53 percent — say the country should neither be proud nor ashamed. Still, only 14 percent say Germany should be ashamed, and a 61 percent majority say they feel the country has “done enough to apologize for the bad things it did in the past” — potentially helping explain why most Germans say they feel neutral of the country’s history.

Politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have argued that the country should reclaim a sense of national pride, including by reshaping childhood education so it involves “less Hitler,” as one version of a manifesto published by a regional branch of the party put it. Forty-one percent of voters who plan to back AfD in future elections say Germany should be proud of its history — more than double the number of total adults who say the same.

While such ideas were once considered politically fringe in Germany, they have increasingly moved into the mainstream. The AfD is in first place in national polls, in front of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, and it’s even further ahead in two eastern states in which regional elections are set for September.

Amid a growing anti-incumbency backlash across the West, Canada stands out.

When asked what makes them most ashamed of their country, just 22 percent of Canadians pointed to their leaders — significantly lower than the 40 percent of Americans, 45 percent of Brits, 52 percent of the French, 43 percent of Germans and 50 percent of Spaniards.

There’s a reason for their more positive outlook on the government. Aided by Trump’s trade war and what have become routine threats to turn Canada into the “51st state,” Mark Carney, a rookie politician, managed to revive Canada’s Liberal Party and win office in April 2025 with promises to stand up to Washington while transforming the oil-rich country into an energy superpower. Carney is even popular in Western Canada — traditionally Conservative territory — thanks to pipeline promises and his rollback of Justin Trudeau-era climate policy. A recent Leger poll showed he’s more popular than any other politician in Quebec.

While the majority of adults across the European countries surveyed expressed national pride, Spaniards are on a different level. A 52 percent majority pick Spain as the best place to live, while most adults in the U.K. and France pick other countries over their own.

That showed up when we asked about pride in nationality, too: A strong 76 percent majority of adults say they are proud to be Spanish, compared with the 68 percent who are proud to be British, 71 percent who are proud to be French and 60 percent who are proud to be German.

In Spain, national pride goes beyond its politics — which has been and is still somewhat tumultuous. Spaniards are reckoning with the echoes of Francisco Franco’s decades-long dictatorship, competing pro-independence movements in regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country, and an ongoing deep dissatisfaction with the way their country is being run.

And still, they exhibit a more optimistic sense of national pride than their European counterparts, partly because of the country’s status on the world stage, through its athletic success as well as its reputation as a tourism and culture hub.

France’s national anthem, the Marseillaise, is a revered national symbol that dates back to the French Revolution.

Most adults in France, 57 percent, say children should be made to sing the national anthem in school, a view that cuts across partisan lines but is most popular among the far-right National Rally (74 percent) and the centrist Ensemble party (67 percent). Meanwhile, just 42 percent of U.K. adults, 32 percent of German adults and 26 percent in Spain say the same.

More broadly, just like the kneeling protests in the NFL provoked outrage among American conservatives, jeering and booing as a form of protest during the French national anthem at sporting events usually stokes controversy — though in France, the furor is often from across the political spectrum.

Ten years after Brexit initiated, an effort to take back control of the U.K., The Blue Light News Poll suggests British attitudes toward patriotism remain somewhat pessimistic — and broadly aligned with those elsewhere in Europe.

A 46 percent plurality of adults in the U.K. say “you can’t say you’re proud to be British anymore without being judged,” about on par with the share who say the same in other European countries. Though similar shares of U.K., French and Spanish adults say their countries should be proud of their histories, similar shares of them — and German adults — also say they’re ashamed of their leaders now.

The findings suggest that while Brexit reshaped Britain’s relationship with the European Union, whether it fundamentally changed the country’s sense of national identity is more complex. Other studies have revealed a multi-year decline in U.K. adults taking pride in the country’s achievements.

Blue Light News’s Tim Ross, Sue Allan, Joshua Berlinger, James Agelos and Aitor Hernández-Morales contributed to this report.

Politics

Two Dans, four choices, one big headache for GOP in Alaska Senate race

Published

23 minutes ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ANCHORAGE — Alaska Republicans have railed for years against ranked-choice voting. Now some worry it could cost them in a critical Senate race.

GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is facing not only well-known former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the four-way general-election field, but a same-name challenger who Republicans think could siphon votes from him in the close contest.

Some GOP operatives fear the senator will lose first-choice votes to retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan Jr. — and that supporters of his longshot rival might not rank the incumbent at all in the state’s unusual election system where voters can pick backup options that get counted if no candidate clears 50% of the initial vote. Two recent polls that simulated ranked-choice tabulations showed Peltola as the victor.

Art Hackney, a Sullivan ally who runs a super PAC boosting the senator, said Dan J. Sullivan is “going to get a percent of the vote” and warned it could be “potentially” be “significant in terms of impacting” the result of the race.

“Sullivan can win … but it makes it a heck of a lot harder,” added a Republican operative working on other Alaska races. “It’s what the race is going to come down to: If he loses, it’ll for sure be because of that. And if he wins, it’ll be in spite of that.”

Republicans have for years bemoaned the system that allows voters to rank their preference and eliminates candidates until one reaches a majority as “costly” and “confusing,” and argue it has undercut their party. Top Republicans like outgoing GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump have urged voters to repeal the system via a ballot measure this fall after a previous effort failed two years ago.

“Even if he gets a percent or 2% or 3% percent with the phony ranked choice stuff, you never know what they’re going to do with it,” Trump said of Dan J. Sullivan in a rally in Wasilla last week, adding that it “could be the difference.”

It’s happened before: Peltola benefitted in her House win from a split GOP field, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warded off a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 partly because of ranked-choice voting. Alaska Republicans are also fretting about the governor’s race this year, where three GOP candidates are competing, urging voters to “rank the red.”

Dan J. Sullivan, Heikes and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The similarly named Sullivans are separated on the ballot by their middle initials and party affiliation (the incumbent is listed as a Republican, the challenger without a party).

But the senator and his allies aren’t taking any chances.

They’re employing several of the tactics Murkowski used during her successful 2010 write-in campaign, including giving out rubber wristbands branded with the senator’s name and party affiliation, and airing a radio jingle with the NRSC.

“Dan S. is your No. 1,” the jingle goes. “If he’s not, rank him second, don’t throw your vote away. Dan S., Daniel, Gerry — just don’t rank Mary.”

“Dan S. Sullivan has two opponents in this race: Democrat Mary Peltola, and the ranked choice system she and her allies have deceptively manipulated to her advantage,” said Nate Adams, a spokesperson for the senator. “But our campaign is confident that Alaskans aren’t confused. They know the real Dan, and we’re making sure every voter can find him: ballot facsimiles on every mailer, voters reached at the door and on the phone, and even a jingle.”

Those pushing to keep ranked-choice voting in Alaska argue the system helps mitigate the so-called spoiler effect. The group behind this year’s repeal measure said in an email that it’s a nonpartisan effort focused solely on eliminating the system.

Outside GOP groups boosting Sullivan like Americans for Prosperity Action and Club for Growth Action have been urging voters at doors and via mailers to rank the incumbent first, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign. “Make Republican Incumbent DAN S. SULLIVAN your 1ST CHOICE and ONLY CHOICE,” read one Club for Growth Action mailer seen by Blue Light News, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign.

“In a tight election, it doesn’t take a ton of people to get confused to possibly change the trajectory and the outcome,” said Kevin Greene, senior adviser for AFP Action in Alaska.

A version of this article first appeared in Blue Light News Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to Blue Light News Pro.

Politics

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

Published

4 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

lead image

Politics

Pritzker’s big spending for Black and Hispanic candidates is drawing notice

Published

5 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

CHICAGO — JB Pritzker is pouring tens of millions of dollars of his own money into boosting Black and Hispanic candidates this cycle. That could help him win over critical voters in 2028.

The billionaire Illinois governor — who’s also considered a potential presidential contender — is investing at least $38 million in battleground races, according to a person familiar with the governor’s political strategy granted anonymity to discuss details.

Much of that spending has gone to candidates of color, some of whom haven’t drawn much other investment from national Democrats. Pritzker is also investing in races in all six early states on the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, which was rearranged earlier this year to give prize spots to five states with significant Black or Hispanic communities: South Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia and Michigan.

Asked by Blue Light News about how his midterms spending could lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign, Pritzker said he’s “focused on winning in 2026.”

But some of those receiving major infusions from Pritzker say it should earn him a serious look in 2028.

“Governor Pritzker is playing a very important role” in the party, said Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat facing an uphill fight in Alabama who has gotten an assist from Pritzker’s newly-formed super PAC, Ready for the Fight. “He actually cares and is… willing to invest in districts where minority candidates have a good shot if they have the right type of support. I think that’s an important element of any leadership.”

Pritzker said Ready for the Fight’s strategy focuses on GOP-leaning districts that would normally be “out of sight for Democrats” but have become competitive in a favorable midterm environment.

Figures is fighting for reelection in a district Republicans redrew to make it harder for a Democrat to win by decreasing the Black population, after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act this past spring.

When that court decision came down, Figures said Pritzker was one of the first people to call him to offer help.

“The fact that he reached out and engaged us through that lens with that level of knowledge about what was happening in Alabama meant a lot to us,” Figures said.

Pritzker is spending $1.6 million for Figures, $1.9 million to boost Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, another Black candidate running in a newly gerrymandered district that includes part of Memphis, and has put $1.3 million behind Arkansas Democrat Chris Jones in his race against Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) in Little Rock, making him the largest Democratic spender besides the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in all three districts.

Pritzker is also the largest individual donor to Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s gubernatorial campaign, personally contributing $200,000 before committing another $1 million earlier this month. The latter donation came with a matching contribution from the Democratic Governors Association. Hispanic officials and lawmakers have been ramping up the pressure on the group’s chair, fellow 2028 hopeful Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, to invest more in Texas.

Pritzker called Hinojosa an “outstanding person.”

“The opportunity for her to win and for Democrats to win as a result of her winning is tremendous,” Pritzker told Blue Light News at a Thursday press conference. “From my perspective, we all ought to be helping somebody like that to overcome the odds.”

And while he declined to criticize national Democrats’ strategic decisions not to spend for some candidates in tough races facing a deluge of GOP outside money, he made clear he was looking to make up for that lack of funding.

“If I were running in one of those districts, and I’m not getting dollars that I see going to other districts, I would feel frustrated,” Pritzker said. “There’s only so much you can do when you’re being outspent three to one or four to one nationally, and so I’m trying to do my best to fill in some of that wherever I can.”

Pritzker is not the only potential 2028er looking to woo politically powerful Black and Hispanic communities, and his day job and his own reelection bid keeps him away from the national trail — unlike some of the other senators and governors who’ve been criss-crossing the country for months. But what he lacks in time, he makes up for in money.

His spending strategy is catching the attention of senior Black Democratic leaders.

“People tend to take notice of the people who take notice of them,” said South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Clyburn said he takes Pritzker “seriously” as a potential presidential candidate, but cautioned that Black voters and organizers in his home state, where Pritzker recently addressed the state NAACP’s annual convention, likely won’t be swayed by campaign contributions alone.

“We are going to take measure of candidates, not based upon how deep their pockets are, but we’re going to take measure of how deep their commitments are to those things deemed important in the African American community,” he said.

Still, the donations are helping the billionaire longtime Democratic donor and two-term governor forge new allies in key communities that could provide a boost come primary season.

“I appreciate Governor Pritzker’s willingness to invest in places others have written off,” said Jones, who also thanked the DCCC for recently adding him to their list of targeted races. “Convincing people a race is worth investing in has often been an insurmountable barrier for Black candidates.”

Pritzker’s PAC spent $2.8 million for New Mexico Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez and the governor made a $400,000 personal contribution into a super PAC backing Nevada gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford, a Black candidate running in a heavily Hispanic early-voting state.

But his biggest investment of the cycle was to boost Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton, who he picked as his 2018 running mate when she was a little-known state representative, then invested $10 million to help her win her U.S. Senate primary this spring.

The move created some tensions: Pritzker’s endorsement of Stratton helped lift her 2026 Senate campaign significantly over two other candidates — including Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), another Black woman who has had a strained relationship with Pritzker over the years. That frustrated several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, though he’s sought to mend fences since. Clyburn, who endorsed and campaigned for Kelly, said that race won’t “dictate future relationships when it comes to putting our party in the best position to win the elections in 2028.”

And ultimately, Stratton’s ascendance is a significant step in his outreach to Black voters nationally. He will be credited with helping send just the sixth Black woman ever to the U.S. Senate after her likely victory in November. She could be a key 2028 surrogate should he run for president.

“He really does have a platform to raise awareness of critical races that people might not otherwise pay attention to,” Stratton said. “I’m really grateful for that.”