A poll conducted from January to March reveals a 9-point gap between Americans who identify as Democrats or lean Democratic when compared to those aligned with the Republican Party. This is the largest gap in a decade.
The Gallup poll began after former President of the United States, Donald Trump, left office. Out of the respondents, 49 per cent considered themselves Democrats or leaning that way while 40 per cent considered themselves republicans or leaning that way, according to Bloomberg.
Gallup said that this difference comes from those who formerly identified as Republicans but left the party after the end of Trump’s tenure in office. Only 25 per cent of US adults firmly identify with Republicans down from 29 per cent in 2020.
Some 30% of respondents said they consider themselves to be Democrats. Gallup said it was not unprecedented for Democratic Party affiliation to rise after a Democratic candidate wins the presidential election, and cited similar increases after the elections of Presidents Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008.
There has also been a spike in Americans identifying as independents, no matter which way they lean, since the election of President Joe Biden. some 44% of respondents made that choice. The number is up from 38% at the end of 2020.
The poll was conducted among nearly 4,000 adults and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.