Glen Marques

How do Americans choose which political party to identify with?

Started Apr. 18, 2023

Abstract or project description

In modern American society, the political divide separating the Democratic and Republican Parties is evident. Although political ideologies range in a spectrum, these two parties [in recent years] have fallen to the opposite sides of the spectrum without leaving those in the center to have accurate representation. This brings up the query of my project: How do Americans choose which political party to align with? As all recent U.S. presidents have been a part of the Democratic or Republican Party, it leads many American citizens to vote for one of the candidates from those parties, notwithstanding the possible lack of congruence between the politician/party’s view on a particular issue in contrast to the individual. This leads to the hypothesis that specific political values and answers to polarizing questions have implications on which political party an individual may vote for or identify with. Furthermore, throughout my paper, I will look at many polarizing societal issues that many Americans are divided upon. I will analyze these issues through the American National Election Studies and view the results through Americans as a whole, then through the two specific parties of the Democrats and the Republicans. These questions will include a multitude of perspectives within themselves, such as those covering economic, social, and environmental issues in current society. After analyzing, I will look at the data from the individual-issue questions and compare and contrast the results from individual people and those from the Democrat and/or the Republican Parties. Thus, I will group the individuals and their answers (by likelihood) of being more aligned with Democrats or Republicans, and consequently, find out whether or not the individual themself does align with the respective party. Finally, after completing my research, I will conclude that either affirms or denies my hypothesis of whether an individual’s support or opposition for specific polarizing issues indicates their identification with a political party in America.