Republicans and Democrats are as likely to point to the harm of the other party’s policies as a major reason for affiliating with their party as they are to point to the good of their party’s policies.
Those who don’t identify as a partisan, but lean toward one of the parties, are most likely point to the negative impacts they see coming from the other party’s agenda as a major reason for why they lean toward that party.
About eight-in-ten Republicans (78%) and seven-in-ten Democrats (68%) say that the harm of the other party’s policies to the country is a major reason they identify with their own party. The shares citing these negative factors for their partisan affiliation have increased since Pew Research Center’s 2016 study of partisanship. At that time, 68% of Republicans and 62% of Democrats cited the harm to the country by the other party’s policies as a major reason for their decision to identify with their party.
About three-quarters of Republicans (76%) and 68% of Democrats say their own party’s policies being good for the country is a major reason they affiliate with their party.