The political landscape since President Donald Trump began his second term has drastically changed, a new poll found.
The Gallup poll, released Monday, found that 45% of U.S. adults categorized themselves as independents in 2025.
It is the highest figure since the organization began conducting polls by telephone regularly starting in 1988 — and a number that surpassed the previous record of 43% measured in 2014, 2023 and 2024.
The poll also revealed that the 13,000 U.S. adults surveyed are split evenly in identifying as a Democrat or a Republican, with 27% for each political party.
More independents, however, lean Democratic than Republican, marking the first time since 2021 that Democrats have scored the edge, the poll concluded. Of the 45% of political independents, 20% are Democratic leaners, 15% are Republican leaners and 10% are non-leaners — a three-point increase in Democratic leaners and three-point decline in Republican leaners.
Overall, the number of Americans choosing to be independents has gradually grown over the last 15 years, according to the poll, which attributes the current rise to how younger adults are more likely to consider themselves as independents than in the past. The poll documented that Republican and Democratic identification particularly fell by 1 percentage point between 2024 to last year.
- Gen Z (1997-2007): 27% Democrat, 56% independent, 17% Republican
- Millennials (1981-1996): 24% Democrat, 54% independent, 21% Republican
- Gen X (1965-1980): 25% Democrat, 42% independent, 31% Republican
- Baby Boomers (1946-1964): 32% Democrat, 33% independent, 34% Republican
- Silent Generation (before 1946): 32% Democrat, 30% independent, 37% Republican
When broken down by quarter, Republicans held a four-point lead in party affiliation at the end of 2024, which included the presidential election and President Trump’s return to office. The advantage disappeared during the first quarter of 2025, and by the second quarter, Democrats gained three points, resulting in a 46% to 43% lead over Republicans. The number rose to seven points in the third quarter and eight points as the year wrapped.
While rating political views on a very liberal to very conservative scale, more Americans described their beliefs as “very conservative” or “conservative” (35%) compared to “very liberal” or “liberal” (28%), the poll showed. Thirty-three percent of adults identified as “moderate.”
More Americans, however, have identified as liberal, and fewer as moderate, over time, while the conservative label has remained fairly steady.
The poll, which was conducted throughout the year, included interviews with 13,454 adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.
