Amid crippling inflation, rising crime and doubts about the incumbent president's fitness for office, a new Gallup poll finds the percentage of Americans who consider themselves Democrats has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.
Just 27 percent of Americans consider themselves Democrats, the lowest share recorded since Gallup began tracking political party identification in 1988.
“Democratic identification has now declined by one point in each of the past three years. These declines, and the new low registered in 2023, are likely tied to President Joe Biden's unpopularity,” Gallup reports. “Biden's job approval ratings have largely been around 40% since late 2021, and were consistently below that mark in October, November and December.”
But the poll has mixed news for Republicans.
The share of Americans identifying as Republicans is also at 27 percent, though that number has dropped as low as 25 percent in 2013.
The share of Americans identifying as independents has shot to 43 percent, the highest Gallup has ever recorded.
“Independents first outnumbered supporters of both major political parties in 1991 and have continued to do so since then, except in several years between 2004 and 2008,” Gallup notes, adding, “Over time, the increase in the percentage of independents has come more at the expense of Democrats than Republicans, which might be expected since Democrats were previously the largest political group.”
GOP numbers improve when independents are asked which of the two major parties they tend to agree with more.
“Last year, slightly more independents leaned Republican than leaned Democratic. As a result, a combined 45% of U.S. adults identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP, while 43% are Democrats or Democratic leaners,” Gallup finds.
“The 2023 figures are similar to those from 2022, when Republicans had a one-point advantage (45% to 44%). Republican advantages have been rare since Gallup first began measuring independent political leanings on a regular basis in 1991. In fact, 2023 is just the third time Republicans have had even a slight edge, along with 1991 and 2022,” Gallup adds.
Gallup notes the poll just highlights a growing problem for Democrats.
“As 2024 begins, the parties are closely matched based on political party identification and leanings. However, Democrats are clearly in a weaker position than they have been in any recent election year. This is based on the new low percentage of U.S. adults identifying as Democrats, as well as the Republican advantage in leaned party identification. In the past four presidential election years, Democrats had at least a five-point advantage in leaned party identification,” Gallup concludes.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
