Listen to cable TV or almost any political discussion these days and you’ll hear the term “the base” a lot. “Isn’t this all about Trump keeping his base happy?” or, “will the Democratic base accept a compromise with the president?” or, “which party has the most motivated base?” What we […] Read more »
Americans’ Identification as Independents Back Up in 2017
Last year, 42% of Americans, on average, identified as political independents, erasing the decline to 39% seen in the 2016 presidential election year. Independent identification is just one percentage point below the high of 43% in 2014. Twenty-nine percent of Americans identify themselves as Democrats and 27% as Republicans. CONT. […] Read more »
2017 Update on Americans and Religion
The end of the calendar year provides a good time to take stock of Americans’ religion, including the way in which it remains highly intertwined with politics. Protestants continue to make up the largest religious group in America, totaling 49% of U.S. adults interviewed as part of Gallup’s Daily tracking […] Read more »
Party Hoppers: Understanding Voters Who Switched Partisan Affiliation
Partisan affiliation is one of the most stable features of the modern American electorate. While individuals’ feelings toward politicians or their attitudes about policy can change quickly, partisanship is a deep-seated identity resistant to change. Within the last five years, however, we have observed a significant amount of partisan switching […] Read more »
Democratic Party Maintains Edge in Party Affiliation
Forty-four percent of U.S. adults identify as Democrats or are independents who lean to the Democratic Party, while 37% are Republican identifiers or leaners. Democrats have maintained an edge of between five and nine percentage points on this measure of party affiliation throughout 2017, after holding a narrow advantage in […] Read more »
2017’s big stalemate: Partisans stay locked in
We hear a lot these days about big partisan divides in public opinion, but Americans are also telling us they’re fed up with partisanship in general, and often displeased with their own parties. That doesn’t mean that they’re ready to give up on partisanship themselves, though. This study shows party […] Read more »