According to Gallup Polls, a record 42% of Americans self-identified as independents in 2013. The poll has ben conducted since 1988. Republicans fell to their lowest ever level at 25%, while Democrats have stayed at 31% for the last four years, down from 36% in 2008. The results are based on more than 18,000 interviews with Americans from 13 separate Gallup multiple-day polls conducted in 2013.
These trends accelerated as the year progressed:
The 46% independent identification in the fourth quarter is three percentage points higher than Gallup has measured in any quarter since the phone surveys started 25 years ago.
Ballot Access News notes that
This poll does not give respondents an opportunity to choose “something else”, but past polls that have given that option find the “something else” above 10%.
When prodded additionally to see which way they leaned, 47% said Democratic and 41% said Repubican, leaving 12% that would not say the lean towards either.
H/T Joe Buchman via IPR email list.
Well, Republicans have been the losing team more decisively before – like when Obama first came in or when Clinton first came in – yet this is the lowest level Republican self-identification has been at in at least 25 years and the highest independent self-ID that whole time as well. There are lots of other trends in a similar direction – highest ever percentage that say they want a third major party, highest ever percentage for legalizing marijuana, highest ever for ending foreign/military interventionism, historic low approval for both parties in Congress, lowest approval for Obama for his whole time in office, and so on. In this survey, true Democrats are steady the last few years, but down from 2008. So, it’s a potential sign of a crack in the ice. At some point we may see critical velocity, but I don’t know that this is it…although it may be the start, perhaps.
The 12% who don’t-even-lean has been consistent for years. And most of them don’t vote. (Calm down, I’m sure IPR readers are the exceptions.) Partisan identification goes up before presidential elections, and then comes back down. The recent rise for independents has come almost exclusively at the expense of the Republicans; voters hate being on the losing team, and the party is having a bit of an internal conflict over its tea party wing. And that’s probably all this is.
That is because Democrats follow blindly. TThose not wanting to be Democrats are smart enough to ask questions. We will leave the party when the party turn away from the Constitution.
This was why I registered with the Nevada Constitution Party and why I hope the National Constitution Party steps up their movement to cover the complete USA. We are not yet a Power to be Recond with.
Much like pissing in their pants in the dark, stories like this give adherents of miniscule third parties a warm feeling that no one but themselves knows about. Politics is a completely rigged game and the micro-mini-minor parties are stuck at 1% and will remain there even when 99% of the population will tell pollsters that they are “independents.” This is a meaningless self description that makes people feel good while they continue to vote for the Big Two parties if they bother to participate in the voting charade at all. Meanwhile the supposed would be beneficiaries of this plurality are still working on big time projects like arguing over who controls their state parties (of a couple of dozen people, many of them social rejects and the chronically unemployed) and email lists. Special olympics clap time!