PRESS RELEASE

Findings from the newly expanded BDI-CivicPulse survey indicate that local elected officials are looking for additional resources to mitigate the risk of threats and harassment, including enhanced privacy protections, personal security, and tools to manage conflict during public meetings.

Princeton, NJ – In partnership with CivicPulse, BDI is releasing the latest results from our ongoing quarterly survey of local officials on their experiences of threats and harassment. The 11th survey round covers the first quarter of 2025 and includes responses from over 400 local elected officials and 200 school board officials, putting the total number of participants across all survey waves at more than 5,000. 

For this survey wave, BDI and CivicPulse introduced new questions designed to deepen our understanding of not just the effects of hostility but also its perceived drivers and sources, as well as steps that can be taken to counter threats and mitigate their impact. These additions provide further insight into how local elected officials think about risk, accountability, and prevention.

At a time of elevated threats to public officials at all levels of government — marked most recently by the deadly attack on state lawmakers in Minnesota — the survey results underscore the urgent need for increased safety and security support to protect civic space. 

KEY FINDINGS

Shifts and New Developments

Officials identified a range of actions that could mitigate risk and reduce hostility.

• Over a quarter of respondents cited stricter management of public access to their personal data, such as contact information.
• A third said that they would like increased physical security for homes and offices.
• Nearly half expressed interest in instituting strong anti-harassment rules during public comment at government meetings.

Nearly three in four officials — over 70% —  said that they believe the hostility they have experienced is connected to their positions or advocacy on specific policy issues.

• This dovetails with consistent findings that officials are less willing to work on controversial topics because of concerns about hostility: more than two in five respondents reported decreased willingness to engage on such issues this quarter.

Women and minority officials reported identity-based factors as perceived drivers of hostility at substantially higher rates than their counterparts.

• One in three women reported their gender identity as a perceived driver of the hostility they faced, compared to just one in 50 men.
• Two in five minority officials reported their race or ethnicity as a perceived driver of hostility, compared to fewer than one in 20 non-minority officials. 

Continuing Trends

In the first quarter of 2025, levels of hostility, worry, and reduced willingness to take part in political activities remained consistent with the previous quarter. 

• Nearly half of officials reported experiencing at least one form of hostility, from insults to physical attacks.
• One in three expressed worry about experiencing hostility in the future.
• Two in three indicated decreased willingness to engage in certain activities, like running for re-election or taking part in public events, due to concerns about hostility.

These trends remained largely consistent across the political spectrum.

• Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all reported similar rates of severe forms of hostility, such as threats and attacks.
• While more Democrats expressed concern about insults and harassment, officials of all parties reported worry about severe forms of hostility at comparable rates.
• These findings can create space for a shared understanding of the risk environment and opportunities for cross-partisan action to push back on hostility.

The effects of hostility continued to vary across demographics, particularly by age, gender, and minority identity.

• Younger officials report substantially higher rates of hostility, worry, and decreased willingness to participate in political activities compared to older officials. For example, one in four officials 54 or younger reported experiencing threats in the first quarter of 2025, versus one in seven for those older than 54.
• Women report facing significantly higher rates of worry about hostility and decreased willingness to engage in political activities compared to men. This trend has been consistent across survey waves.
• Minority officials report experiencing higher rates of worry about all hostility types, and decreased willingness to participate in public events. For example, over the past four quarters, 22% of minority officials reported worry about attacks, compared to 13% of non-minority officials.

Read the full analysis for a detailed breakdown of key shifts and continuing trends.

This research is produced as part of a joint project launched by BDI and CivicPulse in 2022 to conduct representative national surveys of local officials on their experiences facing threats and harassment. Visit the CivicPulse website to download the survey data, access methodology information, and explore an interactive dashboard.

Media Contact: Sam Jones, Communications Manager

BDI is a non-partisan research initiative based at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. BDI seeks to contribute to a future where thriving communities are prepared to respond in periods of risk, are empowered to address the long-term divides we face as a society, and are supported to build a pluralistic, multi-racial democracy.

CivicPulse is a non-partisan, non-profit research organization seeking to promote more effective governance in the United States through improved access to reliable data, benchmarking, and research. They accomplish this by bridging the gap between top-tier academic research in politics, governance, and public administration and the needs of elected officials, civil servants, and community stakeholders.

The survey program is conducted as part of BDI’s Understanding Threats and Harassment Against Local Officials (UTH) project, a mixed methods approach to systematically monitor the full scope of threats and harassment facing local officials across the United States. Powered by a consortium of key information and data contributors, the project aims to develop and advance a shared framework for understanding – and countering – hostile incidents targeting local officials. The project is supported by the Brennan Center for Justice and generous flexible support from BDI's core funders. For more information about the UTH project and how to cite the research, check our FAQ sheet.