Nine Distinct Groups Make up the Two Political Parties. Take Quiz Here.
You probably find yourself routinely voting Democrat or Republican but coming away unenthused about your party's candidates. That's likely because while you agree with the candidate on some policies, the individual barely represents your overall worldview.
A new Pew Research Center study found that the political spectrum in America cannot be divided into just Democrats and Republicans. Instead, Pew says there are at least nine distinct political groups that make up American voters.
This past July, Pew created its typology using more than 10,000 survey interviews over an 11-day period. Here are the nine categories via NPR:
Faith and Flag Conservatives (10% of the public): deeply conservative on nearly all issues.
Committed Conservatives (7%): pro-business; limited government; less enthusiastic about Trump, staunch supporters of Ronald Reagan.
Populist Right (11%): a majority believes the "economic system in the country unfairly favors powerful interests, that businesses in this country make too much profit and that taxes on household income over $400,000 should be raised."
Ambivalent Right (12%): don't identify as "conservative" politically, but are conservative economically and on issues of race.
Stressed Sideliners (15%): "largely disengaged from politics; only about 4 in 10 voted in 2020, and fewer than half believe the results of the 2022 elections 'really matter.'"
Outsider Left (10%): believe other countries are better than the U.S. 9 in 10 don't feel there are candidates who represent their views.
Democratic Mainstays (16%): identify as moderate; liberal views on race, economics, but are more conservative on immigration and crime.
Establishment Liberals (13%): "when it comes to race, they say they recognize societal ills and that more needs to be done to correct them, but instead of wholesale change, they say it should come from within existing laws and institutions."
Progressive Left (6%): "largest Democratic group to say it backed Sens. Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic primaries (though they broke heavily for Biden in the general election versus Trump)"
So you likely are not simply a liberal or conservative. Perhaps you are a Faith and Flag Conservative or a Democratic Mainstay or even a Stressed Sideliner.
To find out where you fit, take the quiz now and let us know your results.