Most Democrats and Republicans do not give themselves the same ideological rating they give their political party, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
The survey of 5,103 U.S. adults was conducted April 20-26, 2026, through Pew's American Trends Panel and asked respondents to use an 11-point scale from zero, very liberal, to 10, very conservative.
Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 60% placed themselves left of center, with an average score of 3.6. Among Republicans and Republican leaners, 73% placed themselves right of center, with an average score of 7.1.
Only about a quarter of people in each coalition gave themselves exactly the same rating they assigned to their party.
Thirty-nine percent of Democrats rated themselves as more liberal than the Democratic Party, while 36% rated themselves as more conservative. Among Republicans, 38% placed themselves to the right of the GOP and 36% placed themselves to its left.
Alignment is tied to party favorability
Seventy-eight percent of Democrats who matched their party's ideological rating viewed the party favorably. Favorability fell to 68% among Democrats who saw themselves as more liberal and 67% among those who saw themselves as more conservative.
Among Republicans who matched the GOP's rating, 82% viewed the party favorably. The share was 77% among those who identified as more conservative than the party and 68% among those who placed themselves to its left.
Opposing parties appear more extreme
Republicans gave their party an average rating of 7.1, while Democrats placed the GOP farther right at 7.7. Democrats rated their party at 3.8, while Republicans placed it much farther left at 1.8.
Fourteen percent of Republicans gave the GOP the most conservative possible score, compared with 38% of Democrats. Fifty-one percent of Republicans gave the Democratic Party the most liberal possible score, compared with 8% of Democrats.
Across all adults, the perceived distance between the parties has grown somewhat since 2016. The average Republican Party rating moved from 6.9 to 7.2, while the Democratic Party rating moved from 3.1 to 2.8.
Pew said the results represent U.S. adults in its panel. As with any survey, the findings describe reported attitudes during the field period and are subject to sampling and other measurement limits detailed in the center's methodology.
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