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Can you compare the number of assassination attempts on US Democratic and Republican politicians since 1960?
Executive summary
Available sources do not provide a single, authoritative count of all assassination attempts on U.S. politicians by party since 1960; reporting instead catalogs many high‑profile incidents and timelines showing attacks have affected both parties (e.g., multiple attempts on Republican Donald Trump in 2024 and numerous attacks on Democrats including Josh Shapiro) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Contemporary coverage and lists (Wikipedia, news timelines, Britannica, The New Yorker, PBS) emphasize episodic, high‑visibility cases rather than a comprehensive partisan tally, and place special attention on the 1960s–1970s surge in political assassinations and a recent uptick in political violence [1] [6] [7].
1. A fragmented record, not a partisan scoreboard
There is no single source among the provided materials that compiles a verified total of assassination attempts on Democratic versus Republican politicians since 1960; instead, reporters and reference sites present lists and timelines of notable attempts, assassinations, plots and high‑profile threats—often focused on presidents, candidates and major public figures—making direct party‑by‑party comparison difficult from available reporting [8] [1] [9].
2. High‑profile examples show both parties targeted
Recent high‑profile cases cited across the sources include two assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump in 2024 (Republican) and an attempted attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (Democrat) involving Molotov cocktails, plus other violent incidents affecting politicians of both parties [1] [5] [3]. Coverage explicitly notes that recent political violence has affected both Democrats and Republicans [7] [3].
3. The 1960s and 1970s remain a distinct era of lethal political violence
Several sources highlight that the 1960s and early 1970s were an especially deadly era: assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and other leaders stand out as concentrated, often lethal political violence that scholars and journalists treat as historically distinct from other periods [6] [10]. That era is frequently used as the closest analogue for more recent upticks in political violence [7].
4. Reference lists emphasize presidents and national figures, not every local target
Compilations such as the Wikipedia lists and news timelines focus on presidential assassination attempts and major congressional or gubernatorial attacks, which skews visibility toward nationally prominent figures; local or less‑publicized attempts or plots may appear in specialized databases (e.g., Political Graveyard) but are acknowledged as incomplete [8] [1] [9].
5. Recent analyses frame the trend as bipartisan and worrying
Contemporary reporting and analysis (PBS, New Yorker, Politico, Britannica) describe the recent wave of political violence as affecting both parties and raising public concern—polling cited by Politico found many Americans expect more political violence in coming years—underscoring that the problem is perceived as cross‑partisan even when particular incidents target one side [7] [3] [5].
6. Methodological hurdles to a reliable partisan tally
Any effort to count attempts by party since 1960 faces obstacles noted in the sources: varying definitions (attempt vs. plot vs. threat), partial or incomplete lists, emphasis on notable national incidents rather than systematic recordkeeping, and the fact that many databases warn of incompleteness [8] [9] [1]. The sources do not present a validated dataset that assigns every incident to a party for an apples‑to‑apples comparison.
7. What a careful researcher would need to do next
To produce a defensible partisan comparison one would need to (a) define inclusion criteria (what counts as an “assassination attempt”), (b) assemble incidents from multiple repositories (news timelines, government records, academic studies), (c) verify each case and attribute political affiliation where relevant, and (d) publish methodology and caveats—none of which is present in the provided sources as a completed effort [8] [1] [9].
8. Bottom line for your original question
Available reporting documents many assassination attempts and plots affecting both Democrats and Republicans and highlights spikes in certain periods (1960s–70s, and a recent rise), but it does not supply a comprehensive, cited numerical comparison of attempts by party since 1960; producing such a number would require original compilation and rigorous methodological choices beyond what the sources provide [7] [1] [6].
Limitations: This analysis relies solely on the supplied search results and their scope; for an actual count you would need access to fuller datasets, court and law‑enforcement records, and academic compilations not present in the current reporting [8] [9].