Twelve Tenets?
Ben Everidge for Thomas
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if there was a consensus Independent platform …
Gallup conducted a recent poll in January 2024 asking, “Do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?”
The results from Gallup were that 25% consider themselves a Republican, 27% consider themselves a Democrat, and 45% consider themselves an Independent.
Asked by Gallup, “As of today, do you lean more toward the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?” 43% identified themselves as Republican or Republican leaners, while 46% of Democrats identified themselves as Democrat or Democratic leaners.
Formally, Democrats in the United States are the largest bloc of registered voters, representing 38 percent of the voting population today. Republicans comprise approximately 30 percent. Independents and voters who do not claim major party affiliation comprise 32 percent of the formal American voting population.
Nevertheless, independent non-major political party presidential candidates have struggled to achieve any measurably significant number of electors when running.
Why, might we ask? The answer is relatively simple, it appears. Independents have not traditionally been sufficiently organized politically as a group, nor do independent groups tend to be broad-based enough to be defined by the American electorate and thus able to generate a sizeable voting block on election day.
