Public's Ratings of Parties Low in Historical Perspective

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Recent Gallup polling finds the public with at best middling views of the Democratic and Republican parties. Fewer than half rate each party favorably, and as many give a negative evaluation of the Republican Party as give a positive one. The parties maintain their recent positioning on the issues -- Americans view Republicans as better able to handle international matters, while they consider Democrats better in dealing with the economy. General impressions of each party largely center on their ideological orientation, the public's basic favorable or unfavorable views of the parties, and on the parties' perceived biases toward the rich or poor. Finally, an analysis of trends in partisanship nationwide during recent months shows a slight shift toward the Democratic Party.

Ratings of the Parties

A Sept. 8-11 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds less than half of the public with a favorable view of either party. Overall, Americans have a net positive view of the Democratic Party -- 47% rate it favorably and 41% unfavorably. The public views the GOP evenly -- 45% have a favorable opinion and 45% an unfavorable opinion. Both current ratings are worse than the historical averages. Since Gallup first asked this question in 1992, the average favorable ratings of the Democratic and Republican parties have been 53% and 50%, respectively.

Both parties' ratings are down significantly from earlier points this year. In fact, the 45% rating of the Republican Party is the lowest since 1999, when the unpopular attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton hurt the party's rating.

The 47% rating of the Democratic Party is among the lowest Gallup has measured since 1992, with only a 46% rating earlier this year being lower.

General Impressions of the Parties

Gallup's Sept. 12-15 Governance poll asked Americans -- on an open-ended basis -- to say what came to mind when they think of each party. The most common responses reflect the parties' ideological orientations, their perceived biases toward particular economic groups, and the public's basic favorable or unfavorable opinions of the parties.

Specifically, the most common responses about the Republican Party are an overall favorable view of it (14% mention this), the party being "conservative" (12%), and the perception that the party "caters to the rich" (11%). Eleven percent simply said they had an unfavorable view of the party (11%). In general, the basic impressions of the GOP are similar to what they were in 2001, when Gallup last asked the question.

Now, we'd like to ask you about your impressions of the two major political parties. What comes to mind when you think of the Republican Party?

Republican and Democratic identifiers give very different responses to this question. The most common impression Republicans have of the Republican Party (i.e., the party with which they personally identify) is their overall "favorable opinion" of the party. On the other hand, Democrats are most likely to mention the Republican Party's "catering to the rich" when asked for their impressions of the GOP.

About one in five Americans describes the Democratic Party as "liberal," a perception that has become more common since 2001, when 13% mentioned this. Seventeen percent say the Democrats are "for the people; the working, middle, and lower classes." Twelve percent mention a basic unfavorable view of the party, while 7% mention a basic favorable view.

Now, we'd like to ask you about your impressions of the two major political parties. What comes to mind when you think of the Democratic Party?

Democrats' dominant impression of their own party is that it is "for the people; for the middle, lower, and working classes" -- one in three Democrats mentions this. Among both Republicans and independents the Democratic Party's "liberal" ideology is the most commonly held impression.

A separate question asked Americans to judge the parties on a relative basis on two main policy spheres -- international affairs and the economy. Americans continue to give the Republicans an edge on international affairs, while the Democrats maintain their perceptual advantage on the economy. The Sept. 12-15 Gallup Poll finds 48% saying the Republican Party does a better job of protecting the country from "international terrorism and military threats," compared with 37% who say this of the Democrats. That advantage is similar, though slightly smaller, than what Gallup has measured during the past few years.

By a 46% to 41% margin, Americans say the Democratic Party will do a better job than the Republican Party of keeping the country prosperous during the next few years. Democrats hold a slight advantage in this regard in the last two polls. In 2002, the parties were even, but in the prior two years Democrats held the advantage as they do now.

Party Identification

In terms of the general public's party identification, the momentum is clearly on the side of the Democrats. In Gallup polling from July to September, the Democrats have an average three-point advantage in party identification among the general public, 34% to 31%, with another 34% of Americans identifying as independents. In the first quarter of this year, Republicans had an average 35% to 33% advantage. In the second quarter, the parties shared the same average, with both at 33%.

The precise breakdown of identification with the parties in a particular survey varies from poll to poll, in part because of short term changes in the political environment and also to the topics and content of that particular survey.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 921 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 12-15, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

4. Next, we'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of these people -- or if you have never heard of them. How about -- How about --[ITEMS A-H ROTATED, THEN ITEMS I-J ROTATED]?

I. The Republican Party

J. The Democratic Party

22. Looking ahead for the next few years, which political party do you think will do a better job of protecting the country from international terrorism and military threats -- [ROTATED: the Republican Party or the Democratic Party]?

23. Looking ahead for the next few years, which political party do you think will do a better job of keeping the country prosperous -- [ROTATED: the Republican Party or the Democratic Party]?

COMBINED RESPONSES (Q.22-23)