Democratic Mainstays, the largest Democratic-oriented group, as well as the oldest on average, are unshakeable Democratic loyalists and have a moderate tilt on some issues. Two other Democratic-aligned groups could not be more different from each other, both demographically and in their relationship to the party. Establishment Liberals, while just as liberal in many ways as Progressive Left, are far less persuaded of the need for sweeping change. Progressive Left, the only majority White, non-Hispanic group of Democrats, have very liberal views on virtually every issue and support far-reaching changes to address racial injustice and expand the social safety net. They include two very different groups of liberal Democrats: Progressive Left and Establishment Liberals. ( For complete descriptions of all nine typology groups see Chapters 3-11 for profiles of the Democratic and Republican coalitions see Chapters 1 and 2 of this report.) The four Democratic-oriented typology groups highlight the party’s racial and ethnic diversity, as well as the unwieldy nature of the current Democratic coalition. It is the first typology conducted on Pew Research Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel, which provides the benefit of a large sample size and the ability to include a wealth of other political data for the analysis, including the Center’s validated voter study. This is the Center’s eighth political typology since 1987, but it differs from earlier such studies in several important ways. The study is primarily based on a survey of 10,221 adults conducted July 8-18, 2021 it also draws from several additional interviews with these respondents conducted since January 2020.

It segments the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Pew Research Center’s new political typology provides a road map to today’s fractured political landscape. In addition, to succeed politically, the parties must maintain the loyalty of highly politically engaged, more ideological voters, while also attracting support among less engaged voters – many of them younger – with weaker partisan ties. These intraparty disagreements present multiple challenges for both parties: They complicate the already difficult task of governing in a divided nation. For example, while Democrats widely share the goal of combating racial inequality in the United States, they differ on whether systemic change is required to achieve that goal. Democrats face substantial internal differences as well – some that are long-standing, such as on the importance of religion in society, others more recent. Republicans are divided on some principles long associated with the GOP: an affinity for businesses and corporations, support for low taxes and opposition to abortion. Yet the gulf that separates Republicans and Democrats sometimes obscures the divisions and diversity of views that exist within both partisan coalitions – and the fact that many Americans do not fit easily into either one. Republicans and Democrats agree on very little – and when they do, it often is in the shared belief that they have little in common. Partisan polarization remains the dominant, seemingly unalterable condition of American politics.

Here are the questions used in the main typology survey, along with responses, and the survey methodology. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. The study is primarily based on a survey of 10,221 adults conducted on Pew Research Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel (ATP) from July 8-18, 2021 it also draws from several additional interviews with these respondents conducted since January 2020 (for more on the surveys used for analysis, see Appendix B and the detailed tables.Įveryone who took part in this survey is a member of the ATP, an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. To learn more about the political typology, including its history and the statistical methods used to create the typology, see “ Behind Pew Research Center’s 2021 Political Typology.” We did this by creating a political typology, which classifies the public into nine distinct groups based on their political values and attitudes. While partisanship remains the dominant factor in politics, we sought to identify the fissures within both partisan coalitions. Pew Research Center conducted this study to learn more about the complexity of the current political environment.

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