Identification with the Democratic Party has plummeted in the U.S. to the lowest recorded levels, according to a Gallup database.
Even before the first presidential debate featuring both current President Joe Biden and his challenger in the 2024 elections, Donald Trump, only 23 percent of U.S. respondents surveyed by the organization said in June that they identified as Democrats. This is fewer than ever since continuous records of the question started at the organization in 2004.
Identification with the Republican Party was not much higher in June of this year at only 25 percent (while identifying as an Independent became much more popular). However, a look at Gallup’s records for previous years shows that Democrats mostly had a leg up when it comes to party identification. This applied both in June 2016, the year of Donald Trump’s election, and throughout his presidency. Only as recently as 2022, while Biden was already in office, did Republicans catch up and then finally overtake Democrats in some months, for example June 2024. However, the low support for established parties and the heightened will to identify as an Independent still speaks to a level of resignation with both Democrats and Republicans.
Identification with the Republican Party reached its lowest point over the last 20 years in October 2013 at just 20 percent and also hit 22 percent during the Trump administration in January 2018. Meanwhile, the lowest Democratic party affiliation had ever dropped before was 24 percent in September 2022 and September 2023, both under Biden. While Biden’s approval hit 38 percent in June, this is not so far removed from Trump’s 39 percent in June 2020 at the same time in his presidency that Biden is at now.
Biden has received heavy criticism for his performance at the debate on Thursday – including from inside his own party – for speaking at times incoherently and rambling while appearing no younger than his age, 81. Trump was meanwhile criticized for insults and wrong characterizations of Congresspeople as well as promoting racial stereotypes of Black and Latino Americans as well as Palestinians. He also downplayed and made false claims in regards to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, used false statements concerning his record of taxation, the economy and environmental protection as well as crime in the U.S.
