from Ballot Access News
Pew Research Center Releases Poll on Partisan Identification
On May 21, the Pew Research Center released this public opinion poll on political values. It is an extensive survey, in twelve sections, and used a sample of 3,013 respondents. Among many other findings, the poll shows that 39% of U.S. residents identify themselves as independents, 33% as Democrats, 22% as Republicans, and 6% no opinion or “other”.
Men are more likely to describe themselves as independents than women are. Men self-identify at 42% independent, 28% Democratic, 24% Republican. Women self-identify as 41% Democratic, 31% independent, 22% Republican.
When the self-described independents are asked if they lean toward either of the major parties, and the leaners are then grouped with a major party, the results are: Democrats 50%, Republicans 34%, independent independents 16%.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Robert Milnes // May 21, 2009 at 9:27 pm
The problem here is that the one real major party-the Progressive Party-is split.
2 Donald Raymond Lake // May 21, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Huh ?????????????
3 rachel h // May 21, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Yup progressives are major party. Two of them here.
They’re so dead, they only have one activist.
4 d.eris // May 21, 2009 at 11:59 pm
It doesn’t seem like there are very many independents who actually lean independent.
5 Melty // May 22, 2009 at 2:10 am
wow, 45% who aint ruling party, nice!
lookin pretty dismal for the Republicans, . . . getting down to mostly just die-hards?
might many Democrats get fed up with their party over the next few hundred days and put the ruling party total below half?
6 Catholic Trotskyist // May 22, 2009 at 2:39 am
No, not gonna happen, get over it. Unless either the Greens and Libertarians adopt Milnes’s Progressive Alliance strategy, or all dissatisfied people adopt the Fringe Alliance strategy. Ballot access and media aren’t the problem, people not wanting radicalism is the problem.
7 Robert Milnes // May 22, 2009 at 3:03 am
“…people not wanting radicalism is the problem.” Very astute. & when the GP & LP vote coordinate to win the ballot, their individual radicalism becomes in effect progressivism, which the American people CAN deal with & vote for. & have in the past.
8 Robert Capozzi // May 22, 2009 at 5:55 am
very encouraging stat, indeed. the duality of R vs. D is collapsing.
The question is: Will it be replaced by ANOTHER duality, or will it be replaced with a 3D model?
Unfortunately, THE MATRIX was weak in this sense. It offered a red and blue pill, when in reality these are MANY pills, many directions to go.
9 Ross Levin // May 22, 2009 at 3:15 pm
It’s ironic that anyone from the third party world (whose collective members maybe add up to a few percentage points, if you’re lucky) would call the situation the Republicans are in “dismal.”
10 d.eris // May 22, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Yet, it is certainly not a good sign for Republicans that many among them have found it necessary to argue against third party activism. They are in a bad way if they are forced to compare themselves favorably with the Libertarian and Constitution Parties, among others.
11 Eric Dondero // May 24, 2009 at 10:09 am
Touche’ Ross Levin. Note that the Libertarian Party today, has not a single state legislator sitting in a State House or Senate, anywheres in the entire United States.
(They actually do have one Rep. Steve Vaillancourt of NH, but refuse to recognize him cause he’s “too radical.)
Now it’d be one thing if the LP was electing state legislators, and could justifiably say, “we’re up and coming…”
But they’re in a worse position than they were in the 1990s, and even the 1980s, when they had legislators in Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont.
12 Fools United // May 24, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Hey, here’s an idea: let’s unite the radical nut fringe of Dondero, Milnes, and Trotskyite. We can call it the Progressive Fringe Alliance of Nuts, or P-FAN.
13 A mind of it's own // May 24, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I never agree or believe these polls. While it might sound nice that 33% of Americans idenitfy themselves as independents, I just find it hard to believe. On what basis are people identifying themselves as independents? Are these people who don’t agree with what the current administration is doing or are these people that have always identified themseleves as independents?
14 Ross Levin // May 24, 2009 at 10:51 pm
They’re people who are saying that they’re registered with no party.
15 Steven R Linnabary // May 25, 2009 at 7:39 am
The Columbus Dispatch ran this editorial last week calling for the demise of the republican party:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/05/20/RIPGOP.ART_ART_05-20-09_A13_D3DTO63.html
This was my response, published yesterday:
http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/05/24/Linnabary__SAT_ART_05-24-09_G4_J0DUH4H.html?sid=101
PEACE
16 Ross Levin // May 25, 2009 at 10:12 am
Nice letter.
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