… Earlier this year, Gallup found that 42 percent of Americans identified as independents, the highest it has measured since modern polling techniques started 25 years ago. … The pattern, nearly everywhere but in the states of the old Confederacy, is the same: People are leaving the Republican Party, and […] Read more »
Democrats Are Unified; G.O.P. Is Unified Only in Opposing Obama
… Republicans are less unified than Democrats. For all of the G.O.P.’s unity in opposing President Obama, Republicans disagree on many issues. For all the Democratic Party’s history of factionalism, it is now the party of more ideological consistency. To understand these issues, we created a set of measures of […] Read more »
Nine in G.O.P. Vie to Succeed Arizona Governor, With Party Identity at Stake
… In the weeks since Gov. Jan Brewer announced that she would not run for re-election, the already crowded field of Republicans looking to replace her has grown noisy, with nine candidates of widely varying interests and experiences vying for attention. The very definition of “Republican” in this state of […] Read more »
Of leaners and swingers
My column last week on independents who lean toward a party ignited a (tiny) controversy. Some of those who questioned my argument asked questions like “Are independents independent?” and “Are independents a myth?” Conducting a nuanced conversation in 140 characters, or even in 600 words, can be difficult, but in […] Read more »
Democrats’ Growing Problems With Independent Voters on the Senate Map
… Attitudinally, independents once again more closely resemble GOP voters than Democrats. The CBS News/New York Times survey found that while Democrats continued to approve of the president (76 percent approve), Republicans (only 7 percent approve) and independents (only 37 percent approve) did not, and while 60 percent of Democrats […] Read more »
Stark Racial Differences in Views on U.S. Status
Overall, Americans are as likely to be positive (39%) about the current state of the country as they are to be negative (40%). However, the gap between whites’ and nonwhites’ views of where the country stands is wider than at any point in recent history, with nonwhites now almost twice […] Read more »