All These New Independents Are Making Politics More Partisan

Disenchanted voters are fleeing the Democratic and Republican parties in droves. Their exodus is perpetuating the skyrocketing partisanship they seek to escape.

Gallup published polling in January showing that as of last year, 45% of US adults identified as political independents, a record high. The migration began around 2008, with the election of President Barack Obama, and has spiked since. It’s most pronounced among Generation X (Americans born 1965–1980); Millennials (1981–1996) and Generation Z (1997–2007).