PARTY AFFILIATION AND VIEWS OF THE PARTIES
The Pew Research survey, Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007, stated, “While public perceptions of the Republican Party have tumbled, evaluations of the Democratic Party have not improved substantially in recent years, and the Democratic gains in party identification are in the form of a softer “leaning†among independents rather than in the share who think of themselves as Democrats.”
Since 1994, those who identify with the Republican party have declined by 5 percent, while identification with Democrats has increased by 2 percent.
What is more dramatic for this time frame is that independents have made a significant move toward Democrats.
The Pew Research survey seems to indicate that this shift to the Democratic party is due to increasing dissatisfaction with how things are going:
Evangelicals are still a major segment of the Republican party.
| Party | Conservative White Evangelical Protestant | Conservative – Other | Moderate/Liberal | Don’t Know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 26% | 35% | 35% | 2% |
| Democrat | 0% | 21% | 75% | 4% |
Andy Hailey