Why Young Americans Are Abandoning Party Labels
A record 45% of U.S. adults identified as political independents in 2025, exceeding the previous high of 43% recorded in 2014, 2023 and 2024. By comparison, equal shares of Americans — 27% each — said they identify as Democrats or Republicans.
Since Gallup began regularly tracking party identification by telephone in 1988, independents have typically made up the largest political group. Over the past 15 years, that share has risen sharply, usually reaching 40% or more — a level not seen before 2011.
The 2025 results are based on interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults conducted throughout the year. In each survey, Gallup asked respondents whether they identify politically as a Republican, a Democrat or an independent.
Much of the recent growth in independent identification reflects generational change. Millennials and Generation X have continued to identify as independents at relatively high rates as they age, while older generations have become less likely to do so. Generation Z, as with earlier generations at similar ages, disproportionately identifies as politically independent.
In 2025, majorities of Gen Z adults and millennials said they were independents, along with more than four in 10 Gen X adults. By contrast, no more than one-third of baby boomers and members of the Silent Generation identified as independents.
Independence is also higher because today’s young adults are more likely to reject party labels than young adults in the past. The 56% of Gen Z adults identifying as independents in 2025 compares with 47% of millennials in 2012 and 40% of Gen X adults in 1992.
Democratic-Leaning Independents Give Democrats Edge
Since 1991, Gallup has also asked independents whether they lean more toward the Republican or Democratic Party.
In 2025, more independents leaned Democratic than Republican. Of all independents, 20% leaned Democratic, 15% leaned Republican and 10% did not lean toward either party. This marked a shift from 2024, reflecting a three-point decline in Republican leaners and a three-point increase in Democratic leaners.
Between 2024 and 2025, identification with both the Republican and Democratic parties slipped by one percentage point.
When party identification and leanings are combined, an average of 47% of Americans identified as Democrats or independents who lean Democratic, compared with 42% who identified as Republicans or leaned Republican. This ended a three-year period in which Republicans held the advantage.
Party preferences in 2025 largely returned to patterns seen during Donald Trump’s first term, when Democrats held average leads of about five points. Democrats — who usually maintain an advantage — enjoyed larger leads in 1992 and 1993, from 1996 through 1999, and from 2006 through 2009.
The annual shift from a one-point Republican edge in 2024 to a five-point Democratic advantage in 2025 masks how quickly party affiliation changed over the past 16 months. In the fourth quarter of 2024 — covering the final month of the presidential campaign and much of Trump’s transition — Republicans led by four points. That edge vanished in the first quarter of 2025. By the second quarter, Democrats were ahead 46% to 43%, a margin that widened to seven points in the third quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.
Conservative Lead in Ideology Narrowest Yet
Alongside party identification, Gallup asks Americans to describe their political views on a scale from very liberal to very conservative. In 2025, more respondents described themselves as “very conservative” or “conservative” (35%) than as “very liberal” or “liberal” (28%), while 33% identified as “moderate.” The seven-point conservative advantage was the smallest Gallup has measured in annual averages since 1992 and only the third time the gap has been under 10 points.
Over the long term, liberal identification has increased — from 17% in 1992 — while the share identifying as moderate has declined from 43%. Conservative identification has remained relatively stable.
Ideological change has been most pronounced among Democrats. In 2025, 59% identified as liberal, up from 33% in 2005 and 25% in 1994, with increases seen across most Democratic subgroups.
Republicans’ and independents’ ideological identities have shifted less. Still, 77% of Republicans now identify as conservative, compared with 58% in 1994. Among independents, 47% continue to identify as moderates, with the rest leaning more conservative than liberal.
Alt text: Line charts show trends in ideological identification among Republicans, Democrats and independents using annual Gallup telephone interview data from the mid-1990s through 2025. In 2025, 77% of Republicans identify as conservative, 20% as moderate and 2% as liberal. Among Democrats, 59% identify as liberal, 32% as moderate and 8% as conservative. Independents are more mixed, with 47% identifying as moderate, 27% as conservative and 24% as liberal.
Bottom Line
The U.S. political landscape shifted significantly during the first year of Trump’s second term. A record share of Americans said they identify with neither major party, and changes in independents’ leanings quickly erased the Republican advantage that helped secure Trump’s reelection. Over the year, Democrats regained and expanded their lead in party leanings, a pattern reflected in the party’s strong showing in 2025 special elections compared with the more Republican-leaning 2024 cycle.
These shifts do not signal growing affection for the Democratic Party. Favorable ratings for Democrats are no higher than those for Republicans and rank among the worst Gallup has recorded for the party.
Instead, as seen from 2022 through 2024, the changes appear tied to one party being associated with an unpopular incumbent president — first Democrats with Biden, and now Republicans with Trump. Negative views of presidential performance tend to push some Americans, especially independents with weaker party ties, toward the opposition.
This pattern has produced frequent changes in political control in Washington, with the incumbent president’s party losing the presidency or at least one chamber of Congress in each of the past six presidential or midterm elections.
