Over recent decades, research on party identification has found

• A. An increase in Democrats.
• B. An increase in independents.
• C. An increase in Republicans.
• D. A decrease in Democrats and increase in Republicans.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how people identify themselves politically and how that identification has changed over time. Over recent decades, research shows a growing share of Americans describe themselves as independents rather than identifying with Democrats or Republicans. This reflects a broader trend toward party dealignment, where strong loyalty to a single party weakens and fewer voters claim a formal attachment to either major party. Yet independents aren’t always neutral voters; many still lean toward one party in practice and may vote accordingly, even if they don’t formally identify with that party. Because of this shift in self-identification, the correct takeaway is that independents have become more common, rather than major-party groups increasing in size.