More than seven in ten Republican voters say they were “very concerned” about the rise of Islamic extremism in the United States. That’s almost double the amount of Democrats (46 percent) who said the same and 30 percentage points higher than independents who expressed great concern about Islamic extremism in America.

That marked concern with the threat of Islamic extremism is accentuated by a deep lack of confidence among Republicans with the Obama Administration’s ability to handle what they perceive to be a growing threat.  Nearly six in ten Republicans believe that the government is not doing well at all in reducing the threat of terrorism as compared to just 26 percent of Democrats who say the same.  Republicans also were (and are) much more likely to say that the government’s anti-terrorism policies aren’t doing enough to keep the country safe (64 percent) than they are to say that the policies are restricting civil liberties (24 percent).