68% of likely Democratic voters “support a hypothetical law that would ban Elon Musk from serving in government,” compared to 29% of self-identified Republicans.
Seven out of every ten Democratic voters would “strongly” or “somewhat” support “a hypothetical law that would imprison Elon Musk for his role in DOGE.”
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL (May 8, 2025) – A new poll by the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center at The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports found that a strong majority of Democratic and “liberal” voters hold radical views about Elon Musk, a senior advisor to President Trump and the founder of the administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency.
The survey of 1,067 likely voters, completed on May 4, 2025, found that 71% of Democratic voters would “strongly” or “somewhat” support “a hypothetical law that would imprison Elon Musk for his role in DOGE.” Further, support for the authoritarian measure to imprison Musk was highest among self-identified “liberal” voters. Eighty percent of “liberal” respondents said they would “strongly” or “somewhat” support the proposal.
Equally disconcerting, 68% of likely Democratic voters “support a hypothetical law that would ban Elon Musk from serving in government,” compared to 29% of self-identified Republicans.
See the poll questions and the crosstabs here.
Elon Musk is a billionaire entrepreneur, inventor, and CEO best known for founding and leading companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter). Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in technology and business, Musk is also known for his outspoken advocacy of government reform and free-market innovation. Musk briefly served in the Trump administration as the de facto head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he was tasked with reducing waste and streamlining federal operations. Musk officially left his position with DOGE earlier this month.
Musk’s popularity has taken a large hit since getting involved in politics. He’s now one of America’s most polarizing figures. Thirty-eight percent of likely voters in our poll said they have a “very unfavorable” impression of Musk, compared to 21% who said they have a “very favorable” view.
The Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center was founded in 2018 and has since become one of The Heartland Institute’s most impactful centers and one of the pro-liberty movement’s most effective leaders in identifying and solving emerging public policy issues, including those related to new technological developments. Heartland is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems.
The poll has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
See the full results of the poll below, including some of the key data from the crosstabs.
If you’d like to interview a Heartland Institute expert on this topic or other topics, please contact Donald Kendal, the director of the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center and one of the primary authors of the Heartland/Rasmussen survey, at dkendal@heartland.org, or contact Vice President and Director of Communications Jim Lakely at jlakely@heartland.org. You can also call/text Jim at 312-731-9364.
The following quotes, provided by Heartland Institute experts, can be used for attribution.
“The fact that a majority of Democratic voters would support imprisoning Elon Musk for trying to make government more efficient is a shocking indictment of the modern left, which has become increasingly more tyrannical in recent years,” said Justin Haskins, senior fellow at The Heartland Institute and the poll’s primary author. “We’ve reached a point where many Americans would rather unjustly punish innovation than fix the broken systems Musk was trying to reform.”
Justin Haskins
Senior Fellow
Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center
The Heartland Institute
jhaskins@heartland.org
“It is quite disturbing that more than 70 percent of Democrats think Elon Musk should be put in prison for his efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse within the bloated federal budget. Musk should be lauded for his leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency, which has saved taxpayers more than $160 billion so far. It is sad to see that Musk’s reputation and businesses have suffered as a result of his work to streamline the federal government. Elon Musk has shown great courage and ought to be applauded, not imprisoned.”
Chris Talgo
Editorial Director
The Heartland Institute
ctalgo@heartland.org
National Survey of 1,067 Likely Voters on Elon Musk and DOGE
Conducted April 30-May 4, 2025
By the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center at The Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports
- 2024 Vote
45% Harris
46% Trump
4% Other
4% Didn’t vote
1% Not sure
- Trump Approval
26% Strongly support
21% Somewhat support
10% Somewhat oppose
40% Strongly oppose
2% Not sure
- Do you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable impression of Elon Musk?
21% Very favorable
21% Somewhat favorable
14% Somewhat unfavorable
38% Very unfavorable
5% Not sure
Interesting Crosstabs
- 80% of Democrats have “very” or “somewhat” unfavorable view of Musk, compared to just 20% of Republicans.
- Elon Musk helped create the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Some claim that DOGE has engaged in unconstitutional activities, while others support DOGE’s efforts to reduce government spending. Would you support a hypothetical law that would ban Elon Musk from serving in government?
48% Yes
38% No
14% Not sure
Interesting Crosstabs
- 68% of Democrats say they would support a law that would ban Musk from serving in government.
- 46% of independents say they would support such a ban.
- Would you support a hypothetical law that would imprison Elon Musk for his role in DOGE?
39% Strongly support
15% Somewhat support
10% Somewhat oppose
26% Strongly oppose
10% Not sure
Interesting Crosstabs
- 71% of Democrats “strongly support” or “somewhat support” a law that would imprison Musk “for his role in DOGE.”
- 80% of self-identified “liberal” voters say they would support imprisoning Musk.
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence
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Justin Haskins is a Senior Fellow for the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center at The Heartland Institute.
Chris Talgo is the Editorial Director for the Heartland Institute and a fellow for Heartland’s Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center.
