Democrats, by contrast, express a preference for a community where houses are smaller and closer together but amenities are nearby.Ībout two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (65%) say they would prefer to live in a community where the houses are larger and farther apart, but where schools, stores and restaurants are several miles away. Most Republicans favor a community that features more space, even if amenities are farther away. Partisan differences extend even to the type of community in which people prefer to live. About two-thirds of Democrats (64%) have just a few or no Republican friends. About four-in-ten Republicans (39%) say they have a lot or some friends who are Democrats most Republicans (55%) say just a few or none of their friends are Democrats.Įven fewer Democrats (31%) have at least some friends who are Republicans. An even larger share of Democrats (67%) say a lot of their close friends are Democrats an additional 18% say some of their close friends are members of their own party.īy contrast, far fewer partisans say they have friends in the opposing party.
Overall, 57% of those who identify as Republicans say a lot of their close friends are also Republicans, while another 21% say some of them are. Republicans and Democrats both say their friend networks are predominantly made up of people who are like-minded politically. Partisans’ close friends tend to be like them politically Republicans and Democrats rated each other more coldly than they did in December 2016. Majorities in both parties rated each other “coldly” on a 0-100 thermometer scale. Last month, a separate Pew Research Center study found that most Republicans and Democrats also had negative views of the members of the opposing party. In 1994, 68% of Republicans had a negative view of the Democratic Party just 17% had a very unfavorable opinion. Currently, 81% of Republicans and Republican leaners have an unfavorable impression of the Democratic Party, with 45% taking a very unfavorable view. The share of Republicans with highly negative opinions of the Democratic Party has followed a similar trajectory. Two decades ago, a smaller majority of Democrats (57%) viewed the GOP unfavorably, and just 16% held a very unfavorable view. About eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (81%) have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, based on an average of surveys conducted this year – with 44% expressing a very unfavorable view. But in the past, more partisans had mostly unfavorable views than very unfavorable views. More negative views of the opposing party – and its membersĪs noted in the Center’s 2014 study of political polarization, Republicans and Democrats have long had negative opinions of the other party. In addition, the friend networks of both Republicans and Democrats are dominated by members of their own party and include few members of the other party.Īnd while opinions of Donald Trump have been deeply polarized along partisan lines since well before he was elected president, the partisan gap in his job approval ratings – based on surveys conducted earlier this year – is larger than for any president in six decades. Partisans have long held unfavorable views of the other party, but negative opinions are now more widely held and intensely felt than in the past.Īmong members of both parties, the shares with very unfavorable opinions of the other party have more than doubled since 1994. As Republicans and Democrats have moved further apart on political values and issues, there has been an accompanying increase in the level of negative sentiment that they direct toward the opposing party.
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