March 1, 2016
Unit 3: Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

American Independents Movement: Fewer Identify with Political Parties

 

Summary

Party de-alignment is becoming more popular these days as more and more voters (39%) identify as independents. This shift is led by young voters but they still lean Democratic and can be considered "the strongest generation for Democrats" based on how they're voting. The main cause in this deviation from the main two political parties is due to the level of distrust people have in their government. Recent Gallup polls show record low levels of people's confidence in state government. 

Bernie Sanders

Analysis

As the number Hispanics, Asian-Americans, the non-religious, and those with college degrees increases within the population, so does the Democratic vote. On the other hand, whites, the silent generation and white evangelical Protestants numbers decrease within the population bringing down the Republican vote. In today's current election, Bernie Sanders is an independent candidate running for the Democrat vote. In the future, a candidate from an independent party could have the chance of becoming the president.


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