Record 45% of Americans Identify as Independents
"I Voted" stickers rest on a ballot box at a polling place in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
More Americans are distancing themselves from the nation’s two major political parties than at any point in decades. A new Gallup survey shows that 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025, the highest level recorded in more than 30 years of telephone polling and an increase from 43% in recent peak years. Meanwhile, just 27% of adults identified as Democrats and another 27% as Republicans.
The trend is being driven largely by younger generations. Majorities of both Gen Z and millennials now call themselves independents, along with more than four in 10 members of Generation X. In contrast, only about one-third or fewer of baby boomers and older Americans use the independent label.
Recent shifts appear closely tied to dissatisfaction with the party currently holding power. According to the Associated Press, that dynamic could benefit Democrats heading into the midterm elections.
Despite the growing number of independents, many are not politically neutral. When asked which party they lean toward, 20% of all adults said they were independents who favor Democrats, 15% leaned Republican, and 10% said they did not lean toward either party.
When party identifiers and leaners are combined, Democrats held a 47% to 42% advantage over Republicans in 2025. This marked a reversal of a three-year period in which Republicans held the edge and returned to a pattern last seen during President Trump’s first term. The Democratic advantage expanded throughout the year, moving from near parity early in 2025 to an eight-point lead by the end of the year.
Ideologically, conservatives continue to outnumber liberals nationwide. About 35% of Americans described themselves as conservative or very conservative, compared with 28% who identified as liberal or very liberal, while 33% called themselves moderate. However, the seven-point conservative advantage is the smallest margin recorded since 1992.
The most significant ideological shift has occurred within the Democratic Party itself. In 2025, 59% of Democrats identified as liberal, a sharp increase from just 25% in 1994.
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