President Biden and the Democrat Congress apparently have been effective salespeople for their arch-nemesis – the Republican Party. Americans are switching parties in droves, according to a Gallup poll of voters released this week.
“That’s welcome news for us in the Republican Party,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) told a news outlet. “We are excited to have so many more Americans registering as Republicans. It reminds me of what Ronald Reagan said, though, that he didn’t leave the Democrat Party. It left him. That’s what you’ve seen over the last year in this far, far leftward lurch of the Democratic Party under Joe Biden.”
According to the poll:
- In the first quarter of 2021, 49 percent of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, compared with 40 percent who were Republicans or Republican leaners.
- In the second quarter, Democrat affiliation stayed high, while Republican affiliation began to recover, increasing to 43 percent.
- The third quarter saw a decline in Democrat identification and leaning, from 49 percent to 45 percent, as Biden’s ratings began to falter, while there was no meaningful change in Republican affiliation.
- In the fourth quarter, party support flipped as Republicans made gains, from 44 percent to 47 percent, and Democrat affiliation fell from 45 percent to 42 percent.
- Independents now also more closely identify with Republicans by wide margins.
The numbers show a historic shift in American sentiments.
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“These Americans are joining the Republican Party because they know that we will protect them, protect their families, protect our country, we will protect their rights, we’ll protect their job and their right to earn a living and to keep that money,” Cotton said. “We’ll protect them from the kind of threats that we face on our streets and a crime wave that’s washing all across America or foreign threats like predatory behavior of the Chinese Communist Party or terrorists and any other threats they may face as well.
“That’s what Americans elect Republicans do. That’s what they expect us to do. And more and more Americans are turning to us to do just that job.”
Polls show that Democrat leaders are less popular than former President Donald Trump. Polls show that Trump supporters are most excited to vote in the next election while Biden supporters are the least excited.