CNN poll: Political independents hit their highest level in a decade
Nearly half of Americans say they don’t consider themselves a part of either major political party, the highest level of partisan independence measured by CNN polling in more than a decade.
Independents have grown to 47% of the population, rising roughly 10 points since just after President Donald Trump’s first term as president, according to CNN polling. Over the last 20 years, CNN polling found independent identification peaked in 2015 at just a shade higher than it is today: 48% of Americans on average across all CNN polling that year were independents.
Democrats and Republicans split the remainder of the population in the new poll, with 27% of Americans identifying as Democrats and 26% as Republicans. Many independents do still lean toward one party or the other, and with those leaners included, 39% of Americans align more with Democrats, 37% with Republicans, and 25% say they don’t lean either way. In a further sign of just how evenly divided American politics is today, when those who don’t lean are pushed to choose a side, they also split almost evenly.
Neither party has held a meaningful advantage in overall identification in CNN’s benchmarking polls since 2021, when Democrats held a 6-point edge over Republicans. Since then, the parties have been separated by just 1 point in each year of CNN’s tracking.
This represents a challenge to the Democratic Party, since voters are gravitating towards independent rather than Democrats with Trump's low approval ratings. Polls show Democrats winning independents by double digits, but many are still undecided or saying they will not vote. If the Democrats win Congress in the midterm election, they need to show that they are going to make a difference in their lives. This means putting forward economic policies that go beyond just repealing Trump's economic policies, policies that address growing and strengthening the middle class.
A lot of people are struggling economically. It hasn't gotten much better when the Democrats were in power. They have passed things like the ACA, and assistance on pharmaceuticals, but the big issue is wages. The article states that a substantial number of the independents earn under $50,000 a year. The minimum wage hasn't been raised since the Clinton administration.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/16/politics/cnn-poll-political-parties-independent-democrats-republicans
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When it comes to party affiliation, Gallup is considered the gold standard. It is truly remarkable how far off this CNN poll is from Gallup. I don't know what to make of it, except that is serves the narrative that people are disgusted with both parties when in fact the move toward Dems is BIG.
Relative to the average across 2025, Republicans and Independents decreased and Democratic affiliation increased.
Q1 2026 (ABC report of Gallup numbers)
25% Republican (last time they were this low was 2013)
43% Independent
30% Democratic
Average across all quarters 2025 (Gallup)
27% Republican
45% Independent
27% Democratic
The shift is even more dramatic -- a whooping 10 point difference -- when you look at the "Lean" numbers (Republican + Independent leaning R and Democratic + Independent leaning D).
Added on edit: perhaps the most notable is that the trend has been going one way for six straight quarters, the longest stretch since 1991 (and it could be longer, I just don't have data before that handy).
Historical context
