Duke Study Finds 1,293 Voters Switched to Independent Status After Souring on Former Party
Updated
Updated · AlterNet · Aug 13
Duke Study Finds 1,293 Voters Switched to Independent Status After Souring on Former Party
1 articles · Updated · AlterNet · Aug 13
Summary
A Duke-led study found Americans who became independents did so mainly after their views of their original party worsened, not because they grew fonder of the opposing party.
Using eight survey waves from 2016 to 2022, researcher Alex Tolkin analyzed 4,941 participants and isolated 1,293 people who shifted between partisan and independent identification.
The findings challenge the idea that voters adopt the independent label mostly for social image, instead pointing to negative party evaluations as the main driver of partisan detachment.
The study covered an unusually turbulent political period and did not test whether the pattern reflects lasting party differences or broader demographic change, even as independents become a larger U.S. voting bloc.