From the University of Massachusetts at Amherst:
The increased level of political violence that members of Congress fear and experience today has emerged as a common thread across political party affiliations in an extensive new survey of nearly 300 former members of Congress conducted by the UMass Amherst Poll in partnership with the U.S.Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC).
The survey, conducted between June and October, contained questions spanning a wide range of topics, including whether former members viewed the 2020 election results as legitimate and whether they regretted their time in Congress. Two hundred and ninety-three former members from both chambers and sides of the aisle responded and 237 completed the survey.
The poll found that 84% of the former members of Congress said they were concerned about the possibility of violence related to the 2024 presidential election, including 74% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats surveyed. Another unnerving finding is a recent increase in the number and frequency of threats to members of Congress and their families during their time in office: 47% of respondents indicated that they received threats at least somewhat frequently, 49% of Republicans and 46% of Democrats. However, for former members of Congress who are female or a racial minority, that number increases to 69%. The group surveyed also reported an uptick in the number of threats against members of their congressional staff.