Who receives more government aid: Dems or Reps?

Data from the Administration for Children and Families and Gallup may add context to Romney’s “47 percent” comment made on Monday.

The Administration for Children and Families tracked how many people in each state were receiving temporary assistance for needy families in 2011.

Gallup did a study on political affiliation by state in 2011.

The Deseret News combined the two data sets to compare political affiliation with the amount of government assistance received.

Nearly 12 percent of voters in the ten most Democratic states in the country, according to a recent Gallup poll on political affiliation, received government assistance from the Administration for Children and Families.

Those receiving assistance made up 4.4 percent of voters in the ten most Republican states.

Some larger states, like California, had as many as 19.1 percent of its population on government assistance.

Utah, the most Republican state in the country, had one of the lowest levels of people on assistance.

A recent video in which Mitt Romney is heard saying 47 percent of Americans “believe they are victims” has led to a cleanup from the presidential candidate.

“Of course, I want to help all Americans, all Americans, have a bright and prosperous future,” Romney told the Associated Press.

The clip was released by the magazine Mother Jones, and has elicited responses from Republicans and Democrats alike.

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what,” Romney said in the video. “There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”

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