Poll: Independents outweigh partisans

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Call it a pox on both the Republican and Democratic houses.

More Americans now call themselves politically independent than at any point in the past 75 years, according to a new poll. The survey also shows that those who do align themselves with a party are more ideological and have become more polarized than at any point in the past 25 years, particularly on issues important in this year’s presidential and congressional campaigns.

Party loyalty, however, goes only so far; neither Republicans nor Democrats say their own party is doing a good job standing up for its traditional positions.

Five months before the November elections, the Pew Research Center poll released Monday sheds light on how the electorate feels about the nation’s two major political parties. And sour seems to be an understatement.

The results indicate a collective thumbs down to both the Democratic and Republican Party, showing that an unprecedented 38 percent of adults rejected both parties and call themselves independents. Only 32 percent now say they are Democrats, and 24 percent now call themselves Republicans.

This flight away from the two major political parties began in 2008, a time of intense partisanship as President Barack Obama battled Republican Sen. John McCain for the White House.

Exit polls show these voters have sided with the winning candidate in all but two of the past 10 presidential elections. Independents broke for Obama, 52 percent to 44 percent for McCain four years ago. And recent polling suggests independents are about evenly divided now between Obama and Mitt Romney, his likely Republican rival.