New poll reveals growing number of Dems want party to move in new direction

A plurality of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents - 45% - who were questioned in the survey said they want their party to become more moderate.

That's up 11 percentage points since 2021, at the start of former President Biden's single term in the White House.

"At the same time, Democrats' and leaners' desire for a more liberal party has declined five points, to 29%, and preferences for no change in party ideology have fallen nine points, to 22%," the release from Gallup noted.

Gallup notes that the Democrats' "current sentiment may very well be a reaction to their losses in 2024, as they look ahead to 2026."

The Gallup poll indicates that support among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents for the party to stay ideologically the same jumped nine points, from 34% in 2021 to 43% now.

Meanwhile, those desiring a more conservative party plunged 12 points, to 28%. 

"The 27% of Republicans and leaners who now prefer moderation for their party is not significantly different from 2021," the poll's release noted.

But the poll indicates that two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters self-identify as conservative, with 31% seeing themselves as moderate and just 2% calling themselves liberal.

Since his first election to the presidency in 2016, Trump has held immense sway over Republicans and has transformed the GOP from a conservative-dominated party to a more populist party of loyalists who strongly support Trump's "America First" agenda.

"This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question," the survey's release noted. 

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.