A record 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025, according to new Gallup data, a shift that coincided with Democrats regaining an advantage in overall party affiliation after three years of Republican dominance.
Gallup found that while 27% of Americans identified as Democrats and 27% as Republicans, the balance tipped toward Democrats once the leanings of independents were factored in. An average of 47% of U.S. adults identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents in 2025, compared with 42% who identified as Republicans or leaned Republican.
The five-point Democratic edge marks a reversal from 2024, when Republicans held a narrow advantage, Gallup concludes.
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The shift was driven primarily by changes among independents, who now represent the largest political group in the country. Of the 45% who identified as independents, 20% said they lean toward the Democratic Party, 15% toward the Republican Party, and 10% toward neither. Compared with the previous year, Democratic-leaning independents increased by three points, while Republican-leaning independents declined by three points.
Gallup said the movement toward Democrats unfolded quickly over the past year. In the final quarter of 2024, Republicans held a four-point lead in party affiliation. By the first quarter of 2025, the parties were evenly matched. Democrats then gained a three-point edge in the second quarter, which expanded to seven points in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.
The growth in political independence has been most pronounced among younger generations, a trend that has reshaped party dynamics. Majorities of Generation Z adults and millennials identified as independents in 2025, as did more than four in ten members of Generation X. Only about one-third of baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation identified as independents.
Younger Americans are also more likely to identify as independents than previous generations were at the same age. Gallup reported that 56% of Gen Z adults identify as independents today, compared with 47% of millennials in 2012 and 40% of Gen X adults in 1992. As these cohorts age, their weaker attachment to the two major parties has made overall party control more fluid.
Ideologically, conservatives continued to outnumber liberals in 2025, but by the narrowest margin Gallup has recorded since it began tracking the measure in 1992. Thirty-five percent of Americans identified as conservative, compared with 28% who identified as liberal and 33% who described themselves as moderate. Nearly half of independents continued to identify as moderates.
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