The partisan identification of registered voters is now evenly split between the two major parties, providing a clear picture of the current political landscape. 49% of registered voters are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, and a nearly identical share – 48% – are Republicans or lean to the Republican Party.
The partisan balance has tightened in recent years following a clear edge in Democratic Party affiliation during the last administration. Four years ago, in the run-up to the 2020 election, Democrats had a five-point advantage over the GOP (51% vs. 46%). The share of voters who are in the Democratic coalition reached 55% in 2008. For much of the last three decades of Pew Research Center surveys, the partisan composition of registered voters has been more closely divided.
About two-thirds of registered voters identify as partisan, and they are roughly evenly split between those who say they are Republicans (32% of voters) and those who say they are Democrats (33%). Approximately a third say they are independents or something else (35%), with most of these voters leaning toward one of the parties. Partisan leaders often share the same political views and behaviors as those who directly identify with the party they favor.
The share of voters identifying as independent or something else has significantly increased compared to the late 1990s and early 2000s. This shift has led to a rise in the number of “learners” today, with 15% of voters leaning toward the Republican Party, and 16% toward the Democratic Party. In 1994, only 27% of voters leaned toward either the GOP (15%) or the Democratic Party (12%), highlighting the evolving voter demographics.
While the electorate is nearly equally divided between those who align with the Republican and Democratic parties, a larger share of registered voters (33%) say they are ideologically conservative and associate with the Republican Party than say they are liberal and align with the Democratic Party (23%). A quarter of voters associate with the Democratic Party and describe their views as either conservative or moderate, and 14% identify as moderates or liberals and are Republicans or Republican leaners.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.”
Groucho Marx
We are divided by political parties, but we may need to understand why. The more we associate ourselves with a specific party, the more we lose our ability to think independently and become biased. Even if we believe something to be true, it can be difficult to admit when it’s not. As Mark Twain said, “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so.”
Democrats and Republicans are present in our everyday lives as neighbors, co-workers, and friends, and it’s often difficult to tell someone’s political affiliation unless we talk politics or see a yard sign. Despite this, we tend to hold a harsh view of the “other” party, which is usually unrealistic and inaccurate. Our emotions can cloud our judgment, causing us to be gullible and making it harder to keep a balanced view.
The Founders of the United States warned against political parties, believing politics should be rational and collaborative, not competitive. Over time, Americans have increasingly voted for their party’s nominee rather than the individual. This trend has risen since the 1970s, particularly in the 2016 national election. Sadly, politics today tends to focus more on assertion than explanation, and persuasion has yet to be lost.
We may need to break free from the bonds of political party affiliations that divide us and make it harder to keep our nation in balance. From a previous chapter:
“In study after study, social psychologists have shown that the group with which we identify, not individual personality, often determines behavior. We began to see what the group saw and stopped seeing some of the things that we were seeing.
But, and this is a big but, pull us out of a group, and we will have more nuance, flexibility, and doubt. We are not so sure anymore as individuals outside of our group, whereas in a group, we are convinced of what we say and do.”
As individuals, we have the power to break free from the bonds of political party affiliations that divide us. Balance is found in the middle ground between far-left and far-right beliefs. Moderates from both parties should unite and free themselves from the money and rigidity in the wings of their respective parties. It may be too late for an affiliate of one party to vote for a candidate from another party, and a third party, a moderate party, may be needed but rarely survives. A third party won’t be viable until the two existing parties nominate someone who is not despised by the other side, and in today’s political climate, dislike for the other guy/gal is automatic. In the meantime, maybe we can all leave our group and become independent?
Understanding the history of political parties is crucial to our political literacy. We didn’t have political parties when George Washington was President. Let me repeat, The Founders of the United States warned against political parties as they believed politics should be rational and collaborative, not competitive. Political parties gradually formed as we figured out what our fledgling country needed from Washington, D.C., such as a central bank and national policy. Long before there were Republicans and Democrats, there were Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and Anti-Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists became the first American political party in 1787. They were businessmen and merchants who wanted a strong central government to protect industry. The Anti-Federalists were primarily small farmers and planters who wished for a smaller government that wouldn’t interfere with their lives. They would later form a party called the Democratic-Republicans. Both the old Federalists and Anti-Federalists remind me of Reagan’s Republican Party, as did the Democratic-Republicans.
In 1828, the United States elected Andrew Jackson, a pro-slavery Southerner. He changed the Democratic-Republican Party’s name to the Democrats. His opponents changed the Federalist Party’s name to the Whig Party. Based on the constituency, it was still the Democratic-Republicans Party. It was ripe for its eventual splitting between North and South during the 1860 Presidential election, whose results were a precursor to our Civil War. The Southern Party was pro-slavery and pro-states’ rights members. The Northern Party was for popular sovereignty, which would allow the White people of each state to decide the issue of slavery. Shortly after, the Whig Party quickly faded away and was replaced by the Republican Party. The 1860 presidential election was a historic moment in American politics, as it was a time of great division and turmoil in the country. The four parties that participated in the election were the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Constitutional Union Party, and the Southern Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party, which was the dominant party at the time, was split over the issue of slavery. One faction supported the expansion of slavery into new territories, and another opposed it. As a result, the party nominated two candidates for president: Stephen A. Douglas, who represented the northern faction, and John C. Breckinridge, who represented the southern faction.
The Republican Party, which was a relatively new party formed in 1854, opposed the expansion of slavery and nominated Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate. Lincoln’s election platform was based on the idea that slavery was a moral wrong and should not be allowed to spread to new territories.
The Constitutional Union Party was formed by a group of former Whigs and Know-Nothings who opposed the sectionalism and extremism of the other parties. They nominated John Bell as their candidate, and their platform was based on preserving the Union and avoiding the issue of slavery altogether.
The Southern Democratic Party was formed by a group of Democrats who were unhappy with the nomination of Douglas and believed that he was not committed enough to the defense of slavery. They nominated Breckinridge as their candidate, and their platform was based on the idea of protecting the institution of slavery and the rights of slaveholders.
Lincoln won the election, receiving a majority of the electoral votes despite not appearing on the ballot in ten southern states. His victory was a major turning point in American history, leading to the secession of several southern states and the start of the American Civil War.
After the Civil War, the Republicans grew, and the Democrats shrunk. Republicans favored business interests and taxes on imports, while Democrats supported free trade and attracted farmers and immigrants. Democrats didn’t expand until 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt created economic relief and social security. They wanted the federal government to actively help those affected by the Depression, while Republicans, being more pro-business, preferred not to burden business with those costs. The next significant shift in party affiliation occurred when large numbers of Southern state Democrats became Republicans after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Parties change, and we have to keep up with that change. Sometimes, we need to change groups or just leave a group. Andrew Jackson altered the Democratic-Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln anchored the creation of the New Republican Party. Franklin Roosevelt revived the Democratic Party. Donald Trump altered the Republican Party.
Research that includes brain maps, gene pool analysis, and unconscious attitudes suggests that people who prefer a simple vision of good and evil, are cognitively inflexible, are fond of hierarchy, are inordinately afraid of uncertainty, change, and death, and are unaware of their unconscious fears tend to vote Republican. Republicans want to spend on the military and the military-industrial complex. Conversely, people who are more open-minded, adaptable, and value equality tend to vote Democratic.