By Michael Ginsberg
Americans were more likely to support the Republican Party than the Democratic Party towards the end of 2021 than at any point since 1995, a poll released Monday shows.
Forty-seven percent of Americans described themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning to Gallup between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, compared to 42% who described themselves as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, the largest gap the pollster has measured in favor of Republicans since the first quarter of 1991.
The results marked a dramatic flip from the first quarter of 2021, as 49% of Americans identified themselves as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, compared to only 40% who identified themselves as Republican leaning. That margin was also the largest Gallup has measured in favor of Democrats in the poll’s history.
Gallup polled 12,416 adults across all 50 states and Washington, DC throughout 2021, for a margin of error of one percent.
Gallup: In 2021, Republicans went from a 9 point deficit in party identification to a 5 point lead.
If that were to hold into the 2022 midterms it would be a seismic victory on election night – this is the biggest advantage for Republicans since the 1994 "Republican Revolution." pic.twitter.com/jQQGEGAcJT
— The Darkest Timeline Numbersmuncher (@NumbersMuncher) January 17, 2022
President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party saw their approval ratings collapse over the second half of 2021. Starting in August with the fall of Afghanistan, Biden’s approval rating dropped from north of 50% to 41.6% in the RealClearPolitics average. During the same time, Republicans captured the Virginia House of Delegates and governorship, and flipped seven seats in the New Jersey state legislature. (RELATED: State-Level Republicans Claim Victory In Fight For Multiracial, Working-Class Party)
Biden’s drop has been fueled by the continued exodus of Hispanic voters from the Democratic Party. A poll conducted in early December found that nearly 70% of Hispanic voters support the tax cuts associated with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, while 55% of Hispanics support increased spending on border security.
Other polls have shown that Republicans are poised to take back both congressional chambers. Voters surveyed by USA Today in November preferred generic Republican candidates to Democratic ones by eight points, while the Democrats’ signature Build Back Better social spending package was opposed by more than 50% of voters in key swing districts.
