More local officials than ever say in a new survey that political polarization is having a negative impact nationally, with those in larger communities seeing greater local effects — findings that coincided with a surge in political violence and Washington gridlock.

Nearly 9 in 10 respondents of the survey of about 1,400 city and county leaders, which was conducted in September by the nonprofit CivicPulse , said they believe political polarization is negatively affecting the nation. That's an uptick from a earlier survey on the subject by the nonpartisan research organization during the first months of President Donald Trump’s second administration, which found 83% of local government officials held that view.

Just 30% of respondents to the latest survey, however, said polarization

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