Record number of Americans identify as political independents, rejecting 2 major parties, poll finds
There has been a significant political shift in Americans’ political party identification in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, according to a new poll.
The findings of a Gallup survey released Monday found that 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025 — a record number that surpassed the previous high of 43% measured in 2014, 2023 and 2024.
U.S. adults who identified as either Democrats or Republicans were tied at 27% each, according to the poll.
The rise in political independence reflects generational shifts, with younger adults today far more likely to identify as independents than in the past.
POLL SHOCK: DEMOCRATS’ CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL SINKS TO ALL-TIME LOW
About 56% of Gen Z adults now call themselves independents, compared with 47% of millennials in 2012 and 40% of Gen X adults in 1992, the poll found.
Gallup, which has regularly asked political independents since 1991 whether they lean toward the Republican or Democratic Party, found that more independents said they lean Democratic than Republican in 2025.
Of the 45% of Americans who identify as political independents, 20% leaned Democratic, 15% leaned Republican and 10% did not lean either way, according to the poll. Compared with 2024, that reflects a three-point drop in Republican leaners and a three-point increase in Democratic leaners.
REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND TRUMP'S MILITARY STRIKE TO ARREST MADURO AS DEMOCRATS SOUND ALARM: POLL
Factoring in party identification and leanings, about 47% of Americans identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, compared with 42% who identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents.
The shift ends a three-year period in which Republicans held an advantage in party affiliation, and more closely resembles the numbers seen during Trump’s first term, when Democrats held an average lead of about five points.
Gallup said the findings were based on interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults conducted throughout the year.