POLL: Record High 63% of Republicans Think a Third Party is Needed

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A new poll has found that a record number of Republicans think the United States needs a third mainstream political party to represent the American people.

Gallup has released a collection of polling data they gathered in late January, which finds that only 33 percent of adults think that the Republican and Democratic parties adequately represent the country. By contrast, 62 percent of respondents think that a third part is necessary, a 5 percent increase from when Gallup asked the same question in September.

The findings seem especially applicable to Republicans since Gallup found that conservatives are now almost as likely as independents to say the country needs a new party. Forty percent of Republicans called for a third party back in September; but now, the support has surged into the 63 to 70 percent range. By comparison, 70 percent of independents want a third party, as do 46 percent of Democrats.

The Gallup poll comes after multiple recent studies established that most Republicans are still loyal to former president Donald Trump. CBS and Hill-HarrisX found that between 60 to 70 percent of Republicans would consider leaving the GOP and getting behind Trump if he were to create his own political party.

Gallup also explored the question of whether Republicans want Trump to remain at the forefront of the party. Sixty-eight percent of them said they want Trump to remain the leader of the party, and most of the poll’s right-leaning participants say the GOP should become more conservative as opposed to more moderate.