According to a new Gallup survey, Americans’ political preferences shifted from Democratic to Republican over the course of 2021.
As reported by The Hill, in the first quarter of last year, 49 percent of Americans said they identified as a Democrat or a lean-Democrat independent, while 40 percent said they identified as a Republican or a lean-Republican independent. This marked the largest Democratic lead over the GOP since 2012.
Over the course of the year, however, the percentage started to decrease.
The percentage of Americans who identified as a Democrat or lean-Democrat independent remained at 49 percent in the second quarter, while the percentage of those identifying as Republican or lean-Republican independent increased to 43 percent.
In the third quarter, Democrats saw a drop of 4 percent in the third quarter to 45 percent, while Republicans increased to 44 percent.
By the fourth quarter, more Americans said they identified as Republican: 47 percent to 42 percent.
Gallup noted, though, that the Republican advantage appears to be slowing, finding that it has just a 2 percent lead over the Democrats: 46 percent to 44 percent.
