MUNCIE, Ind. -- Going into 2025, a new survey from the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University states that Hoosiers want government officials to focus on school safety, public safety and healthcare in their policies.
The Hoosier Survey was released Thursday morning by the center, an annual, non-partisan public policy study that helps gather public opinion on several issues, highlighting what matters most to Indiana residents. The 2024 survey was conducted from Nov. 6-7 and included responses from more than 600 Indiana adults.
“As we enter the new year, it’s clear that Hoosiers want a focus on school safety, public safety, and healthcare—critical priorities that cross political lines," Kevin Smith, the interim director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs and associate dean of the university's college of sciences and humanities, said in a news release from the center. "This survey serves as a valuable tool for guiding policymakers by reflecting the voices and concerns of everyday Indiana citizens."
Starting in January, Indiana will be led by Mike Braun, the state's new Republican governor. One of the main questions that this survey covered was what issues they believe are important "for the new administration to focus on to move Indiana forward."
The following percentage of respondents answered "very important" on the following topics:
- 52.5% - Increasing access to affordable childcare
- 40% - Expanding school choice
- 50.4% - Increasing economic development
- 41.6% - Immigration
- 69.2% - Healthcare
- 57.7% - Improving K-12 education
- 68.8% - Public safety
- 47.5% - Improving Indiana roads and bridges
- 69.43% - School safety
- 40.16% - Abortion
- 57.89% - Reducing taxes
“School safety is a concern that resonates universally,” Smith said in the release. “These findings indicate that Hoosiers want to ensure their communities and schools are secure, regardless of political differences.”
In regards to healthcare, officials said that Hoosiers are concerned with affordability, accessibility and transparency in a bipartisan fashion.
As far as some of the more hot-button issues, the survey states that the majority of respondents, 62%, favor the recreational and medicinal legalization of marijuana. An additional 25% supports medicinal-only legalization.
Out of the respondents, more than 80% of respondents believe abortion should be legal in cases where the mother's life is at risk, or in cases of rape, incest or lethal fetal anomalies. As for gun policy, 58% of respondents oppose carrying concealed firearms without a permit and 59% support an assault weapons ban, while 45% of respondents favor allowing teachers to carry guns in schools.
According to the data, 26% of the respondents stated that they identified as independents, while 41% identified as more of a Republican and 28% identified as more of a Democrat. Around 41% of all the respondents, however, said they were moderate in their political beliefs.