43%
of officials less willing to run for higher office
64%
pulled back from social media
18% / 8%
women versus men worried about physical attacks
33% / 9%
minority versus non-minority officials worried about attacks
Source: Princeton BDI survey of local officials, Q1 2026, as presented in the BDI webinar on threats and harassment. Hostility affects officials of every party; the burden is heavier on women, minority and newer officials.
What officials say would help
- De-escalation training.
- Decorum and anti-harassment rules for public meetings.
- Clear places to report threats.
- Protection from doxxing.
- Social-media monitoring.
- Peer and mental-health support.
- On the AI side, guardrails across every platform, not just some, so tools cannot be used to build targeted harassment campaigns.