Poll: Party IDs at or near historic lows
Fewer and fewer Americans are identifying with either of the two major political parties, considering themselves independents instead.
According to a new Gallup Poll, only 29% of U.S. adults described themselves as Democrats last year, while only 26% declared themselves to be Republicans, both numbers at or near historic lows.
"In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents," the Gallup Poll reported. "The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014."
The poll added: "Americans' attachment to the two major political parties in recent years is arguably the weakest Gallup has recorded since the advent of its polls."
The Democrats may be at their lowest level ever, Gallup said, noting that it had only 30% support in 2014.
"Gallup's shift from in-person to telephone interviewing in 1988 complicates the ability to directly compare party identification data collected between the two methods," the poll said. "However, Gallup data from 1951-1987 collected in person never found a yearly average Democratic identification less than 37%, making it safe to conclude that the current 29% is also the low point in Gallup polling history."
As for the Republicans, they hit a modern low of 25% in 2013 — but, as Gallup noted, "before 1988, there were several years when the average percentage of Republican identifiers in Gallup polls was lower than 25%."
The rising popularity of independents should force parties and candidates to adapt their messages.
As for the presidential contest and other races in 2016, the Gallup Poll said that "the lack of strong attachment to the parties could make candidate-specific factors, as opposed to party loyalty, a greater consideration for voters in choosing a president in this year's election than they have been in past elections."