Record Number of US Adults Identify as Politically Independent, Study Finds

A new Gallup (Center bias) poll found 45% of US adults identified as political independents in 2025, surpassing previous high marks from 2014, 2023 and 2024.

The Details: Gallup's findings are based on interviews with over 13,000 US adults. It indicated younger generations, including Gen Z (56%) and millennials (54%), disproportionately identify as independents, while older generations were less likely to do so. Both Republican or Democrat party identification dropped to 27% each. Among independents, 20% leaned Democratic, 15% Republican and 10% were non-leaners, a shift from 2024 that narrowed Republican advantages. Ideologically, 35% described themselves as conservative, 28% as liberal and 33% as moderate, with the conservative advantage over liberals at seven points–the smallest since 1992.

For Context: Gallup noted party shifts often correspond with negative evaluations of the sitting president, with independents tending to favor the opposition party. These trends contributed to the Democratic Party regaining an edge in 2025 following Republican advantages in 2024, although favorable ratings for either major party remain low historically. 

How the Media Covered It: New York Magazine (Left) contextualized the changes within trends of political division and an increase in civic engagement among young people. It said the disaffiliation seems to indicate "greater levels of profound disaffection" compared to previous generations, and reflects concern over issues both parties are "failing to address." The National Desk (Right) and Newsweek (Center) both highlighted the impact for the Republican party. The National Desk noted "fewer folks are pure free agents" when they enter the voting booth, writing that in 2024, only 6.7% of voters were pure independents–the lowest in over 70 years. It also mentioned that sitting presidents have lost House seats in eight of the past 10 midterms, suggesting that should be expected in 2026. Newsweek attributed the shift of more Independents leaning Left to "souring attitudes toward [President] Trump rather than enthusiasm for Democrats." It wrote, "the numbers offer [Democrats] hope as they seek to defend congressional control in November," but noted Gallup analysis that Independents are only reacting to the current political environment.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.