A majority of Americans who lean toward a political party but don't formally identify with it do so primarily because they oppose the other side's agenda, not because they support their preferred party's platform. According to a Pew Research Center survey of 9,750 U.S. adults conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2026, 56% of Republican leaners and 64% of Democratic leaners cite the perceived damage from the opposing party's agenda as a major driver of their partisan preference. By contrast, only 34% of Republican leaners and 27% of Democratic leaners point to the merits of their preferred party's platform as a major motivating factor.
The contrast is stark when compared to Americans who fully identify as Republicans or Democrats. Among self-identified Republicans, 72% say a major reason for their affiliation is that GOP policies benefit the nation, while 73% cite harm from Democratic policies. Democrats show a similar pattern: 67% point to their party's beneficial policies, while 75% emphasize the damage they see from Republican policies—up from 68% in 2022. For both groups, policy considerations far outweigh other factors: 53% of Republicans and 56% of Democrats say their party defends people like them, while 48% of Republicans and 46% of Democrats cite commonality with fellow party members. Only 16% of Republicans and 18% of Democrats point to friends and family as a major reason for their partisan affiliation.
Roughly four in ten leaners on both sides now cite disagreement with their preferred party on important issues as a major reason they don't formally join it, according to the survey. Among Republican leaners, 41% point to policy disagreements, up from 31% in 2022. Democratic leaners show the same trend: 40% now cite issue disagreements, compared to 30% four years ago. Frustration with party leadership also drives reluctance: 40% of Republican leaners and 44% of Democratic leaners say dissatisfaction with their party's leaders is a major reason they reject the partisan label. The share of Democratic leaners citing leadership frustration has climbed from 28% in spring 2016 to 44% today.
The findings reveal a political landscape increasingly defined by negative partisanship—allegiance driven more by rejection of the opposition than embrace of one's own side. For independents who lean toward a party, the pattern suggests they hold the party at arm's length even as they align against a common adversary. The report notes that while most Americans identify with one of the two major parties, a sizeable share call themselves independent, yet most still lean toward one side and tend to have more in common with those partisans than with leaners from the opposite camp. As disagreement with party positions and frustration with leadership both rise among leaners, the data point to a growing segment of Americans who feel politically homeless—aligned against one party but unable to fully embrace the other.