On Thursday, June 22nd, Vera Action’s Insha Rahman hosted a virtual conversation between top political pollsters Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners (pollster for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson) and Anna Greenberg of GQR (pollster for 2022 Senate, gubernatorial, and congressional races) exploring polling data across 2022 and 2023 elections that shows what voters want when it comes to public safety.

The conversation centered on how crime and safety played out in the 2022 midterms and in key 2023 races, including mayoral and district attorney elections. Celinda, Anna, and Insha all spoke about solutions that voters across the political spectrum and across the country support when it comes to public safety. They also covered which messages do and don’t resonate with voters, and they previewed how crime and safety are expected to influence voter decisions in 2024. The event closed with a Q&A featuring questions posed by journalists in the audience who cover politics and crime.

This recording has been lightly edited for length and clarity.