Democrats and Republicans are held in such low esteem that for the second year in a row a majority of U.S. adults said a third political party is needed, according to a new Gallup poll.
Since 2007, the call for a third political party has never dipped below 46 percent. Fifty-eight percent now want a third party, down only two points from last year’s high of 60 percent.
Gallup started asking the question in 2003, the last time that a majority of Americans thought both parties were doing an adequate job. That figure has now dropped to 35 percent.
The desire for a new party is even between both parties: 46 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of Democrats. But it’s stronger among nonpartisans: 71 percent of independents want a third political party.
The poll was conducted with a random sample of 1,017 U.S. adults around the country from Sept. 4-7. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
