Name: U.S. Conservatism Down Since Start of 2020
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U.S. Conservatism Down Since Start of 2020

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PoliticsWASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' ideological bent has shifted in the first half of 2020 with fewer people self-identifying as politically conservative in May and June than at the start of the year. There has been a corresponding increase in self-described liberals while the percentage moderate has been fairly steady.In January and February, an average of 40% of Americans identified as politically conservative. This was up from and was tied for the highest rate of conservatism Gallup had recorded in the past six years. This coincided with President Donald Trump being acquitted of impeachment charges. It also came amidst strongly positive economic signals in the form of near-record-low unemployment and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching record highs.Nevertheless, the percentage of Americans identifying as conservative reverted to an average 37% in March and April as the coronavirus pandemic emerged. It fell further to 34% in May and June as the pandemic has worn on, Trump's job approval rating has tumbled, and the racial justice movement emerged as a national focus following the death of George Floyd.Meanwhile, the percentages identifying as liberal increased from an average of 22% in January/February to 26% in May/June.Gallup measures Americans' ideology by asking respondents to describe their overall political views as either very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal or very liberal.The recent shifts in how Americans conceive of their political views mirror the decline in Republican Party identification -- and the corresponding -- in the first half of 2020.The decline in self-identified conservatism in 2020 has been seen about evenly among men and women, and among all political party groups.However, it was more pronounced among adults in upper-income households as well as among middle-aged adults (aged 35 to 54) than their counterparts.The conservative falloff has also been stronger among White and Hispanic Americans than Black Americans. Relatively few Black Americans (25%) identified as conservative in January/February, and thus there may have been less opportunity for the rate to decline.More broadly, in recent months, most subgroups of Americans remain more likely to call themselves conservative than liberal; however, young adults, college graduates, Black Americans and Democrats are the exceptions with more identifying as liberal than conservative. Still, aside from Democrats, all of these groups are most likely to identify as politically moderate.As the United States has been transformed in 2020 from an economically prosperous country to one crippled by high unemployment and a sharp drop in GDP, Americans' perspective on politics has shifted. Part of this may stem from the economic challenges created by COVID-19, compelling large majorities of Republicans and Democrats alike to passed by Congress in March.The downward trajectory of President Trump's job approval rating, from a in February to , is likely contributing to Americans' swing to the left. When Trump was prevailing over a strong economy and fighting off impeachment, conservative ideals may have had more appeal than today when his approval has fallen below 40% and his administration is struggling to contain the coronavirus.America's recent focus on racial justice may also be a factor, with the country evaluating the equity of policies related to education, employment and policing, among other systems in the U.S.What 2020 has shown is that political ideology is not a fixed construct, but one that can quickly shift with the political or economic winds. Americans grew more conservative in early 2020, but that dissipated by the middle of the year. That could affect how voters react to candidates running on the label in November. However, with more economic and political news ahead in the second half of the year, Americans' attachment to these labels could change yet again.Learn more about how the works.The latest results are based on combined interviews from three Gallup polls in May and June encompassing telephone interviews with a random sample of 3,079 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.Jul 16, 2020Americans' party preferences have shifted dramatically this year, from a two-point Republican advantage in January to an 11-point Democratic edge in June.Jul 14, 2020As COVID-19 cases surged across the Sun Belt and other hot spots around the country, support for Republican governors' handling of the crisis fell in their own states, particularly among independents.Jul 7, 2020Nearly half of U.S. adults say abortion will be one of many important factors in their vote for a candidate for a major office, 25% do not consider it a key issue and 24% say they will vote only for a candidate who shares their views.Read short summaries of Gallup's ongoing research into how Americans are experiencing the pandemic, with links to full analysis.+1 202.715.3030

PoliticsWASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' ideological bent has shifted in the first half of 2020 with fewer people self-identifying as politically conservative in May and June than at the start of the year. There has been a corresponding increase in self-described liberals while the percentage moderate has been fairly steady.In January and February, an average of 40% of Americans identified as politically conservative. This was up from and was tied for the highest rate of conservatism Gallup had recorded in the past six years. This coincided with President Donald Trump being acquitted of...

U.S. Conservatism Down Since Start of 2020

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