The percentage of Americans identifying with the Democratic Party plummeted during President Joe Biden’s first year in office, falling to the lowest level since the 1990s.
According to polling by Gallup, party identification tracking shifted strongly in favor of the Republican Party and against Democrats during 2021, with Democrats beginning the year with a wide margin over Republicans, but ending in a five-point deficit.
In the first quarter of 2021, 49% of Americans identified with or said they leaned towards the Democratic Party, compared to just 40% who they identified with or leaned towards the Republican party, the largest margin enjoyed by Democrats since 2012.
By the second quarter that margin had shrunk to six points, with 49% of Americans still identifying with the Democratic Party, while the percentage identifying with the GOP inched up to 43%.
By the third quarter, however, the GOP had nearly reached parity with the Democratic Party, with 44% of Americans identifying as Republicans, compared to 45% who identified as Democrats.
In the fourth quarter, Republicans opened up a five-point lead with 47%, compared to 42% for the Democratic Party.
That is the second largest margin the GOP has ever held over the Democratic Party since Gallup began tracking party identification in 1991. The last time the GOP achieved a five-point lead was in early 1995, after the party’s landslide victory in the November 1994 midterm elections.
Along with the decline in party identification, Democrats also face a decline in congressional polling numbers.
A new poll published by Rasmussen Tuesday showed Republicans with a nine-point lead.
When asked whether they would vote for a generic Republican candidate or a Democratic candidate in this November’s midterm election, 48% of likely voters said they would choose the Republican, compared to just 39% who said they would vote for the Democrat.