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Home Research Topics Politics & Policy Political Parties & Polarization
Pew Research CenterAugust 5, 2022
As Partisan Hostility Grows, Signs of Frustration With the Two-Party System

Since 2016, a growing share of Democratic leaners cite frustration with the party’s leadership as a major reason why they do not identify as Democrats

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Since 2016, a growing share of Democratic leaners cite frustration with the party’s leadership as a major reason why they do not identify as Democrats

Post Infographics

As Partisan Hostility Grows, Signs of Frustration With the Two-Party System
Growing shares of both Republicans and Democrats say members of the other party are more immoral, dishonest, closed-minded than other Americans
Support for more political parties is highest among independents, higher among Democrats than Republicans
Share of Americans holding unfavorable views of both parties among the highest in decades
Rise in share of Democratic leaners who cite frustration with party leadership as reason they don’t identify with the party
Two decades of rising partisan antipathy
Views of Republican, Democratic parties largely stable as public continues to rate both parties unfavorably
Republican and Democratic leaners are nearly as negative about the opposing party as partisans, but far less positive about ‘their’ party
Highly negative views of the opposing party are far more widespread than in the past
Partisan antipathy has significantly increased among partisan leaners in recent years
About a quarter of the public has unfavorable views of both parties
Partisans with weaker ties to their party more likely to have unfavorable views of both parties
Younger adults more likely to hold unfavorable views of both Democratic and Republican parties
Partisan gaps on recent presidents far wider than for their predecessors
Public criticism of the parties: Majorities say they are each too extreme, don’t govern honestly and ethically
Republicans and Democrats negatively characterize other party, generally positive toward own
About a quarter see neither party as governing in an honest and ethical way, 30% see both as too extreme
A majority of ‘strong’ Republicans say they like political leaders who claim that Trump won in 2020
Republican views of leaders who say Trump won in 2020 are essentially unchanged over the past year
Republicans without college degrees have more positive views of leaders who say Trump won in 2020
Democrats more likely than Republicans to say they like political leaders who think the opposing party has good ideas on some issues
Differences by party, age in views of whether a person’s party says a lot or a little about their character
Nearly four-in-ten Americans express a desire for more political parties
Younger adults, college graduates are more likely to want more choices of political parties
Republicans regardless of age express less support for more choices of political parties
Wide age differences in perceptions of how much parties differ from each other
Those with weaker partisan ties are less likely to see major differences between the two major parties
Younger people more likely than older adults to say they usually feel like no candidate shares their views
Partisan leaners increasingly feel no candidates represent their views well
Partisans about equally likely to cite harm from opposing party’s policies, good resulting from their party’s policies as major reason for their partisan identification
Negative assessments of other party’s policies are biggest reason for leaning toward a party among independents
Since 2016, a growing share of Democratic leaners cite frustration with the party’s leadership as a major reason why they do not identify as Democrats
Republicans and Democrats without college degrees say their party sticking up for people like them is a ‘major reason’ for affiliating
Looking ahead, most Democrats and Republicans say it is ‘very unlikely’ they will vote for the other party’s candidates
Majorities in both parties view members of the other party as more immoral, dishonest and closed-minded than other Americans
Shares of partisans describing members of the other party in negative terms has risen since 2016
Republican and Democratic leaners view the opposing party more negatively than other Americans, but to a lesser extent than partisans
Partisan leaners increasingly describe members of the other party in negative terms
How partisans view members of their own party
Partisans increasingly view members of their own party as more moral, open-minded and honest than others; shift is more modest among leaners
In both parties, and among leaners, the shares describing opposing partisans with multiple negative traits has increased over the last several years
American Trends Panel recruitment surveys
Invitation and reminder dates
Weighting dimensions
Unweighted sample sizes
Response rates

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