CV NEWS FEED // More Americans identified as Republican than Democrat in 2024, giving the political party an edge for the third year in a row, according to a Gallup poll.
The report combined the data collected from a total of more than 14,000 American adults via 2024 Gallup telephone surveys. The surveys asked participants to say whether they identify as a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent, and respondents who identify as independent are asked whether they lean Republican or Democrat.
In 2024, 46% of respondents said they were Republican or Republican-leaning independents while 45% said they were Democrat or Democrat-leaning independents. The gap between the two political parties is slightly narrower than it was in 2023, when 45% identified as Republican and 43% said they were Democrats. Republicans were just slightly ahead in 2022 as well, with an edge of one percentage point (45% vs. 44%).
Gallup reported that apart from the Republican edges measured in 2022, 2023, and 2024, the last time that more Americans considered themselves to be Republican instead of Democrat was in 1991.
“In the past three years, which were marked by low satisfaction with the way things were going in the United States, negative evaluations of the U.S. economy and low job approval ratings for Democratic President Joe Biden, Republicans have held slight advantages of one to two points,” Gallup reported.
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Gallup also tracked which demographics experienced shifts to the Republican Party, noting that Catholics, Hispanic Americans, young adults, lower-income Americans, Black Americans, and those without college degrees were more likely to identify as Republican than Democrat.
Conversely, several demographics, including nonreligious individuals, white Americans, those in middle- and upper-income classes, college graduates, married people, liberals, and senior citizens saw “little to no increase in Republican Party affiliation.”
Gallup noted that Americans in 2024 were more likely to identify as independents (43%) than as Democrats or Republicans (both 28%).
“Pluralities of at least 39% of Americans have identified as political independents each year since 2011, with the latest figure tying the record high, previously registered in 2014 and 2023. In each of the past three years, equal percentages of Americans have identified as Republicans and Democrats,” Gallup reported.
Gallup also added that identification for both the Republican and Democratic parties are nearing their record lows. Democrats’ low was in 2023, when identification hit 27%, while Republicans’ low was recorded in 2013 at 25%.
Looking ahead to polling in 2025 and beyond, Gallup surmised that Americans could swing back to preferring the Democratic Party with Republicans in control of the federal government for the next two to four years.
Gallup added, “Whether that happens will depend largely on whether Americans are pleased or displeased with the state of the nation under Republican rule.”
