Today's NBC News poll.

[everyonematters]

Last edited Sun Mar 8, 2026, 01:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Independent's view of the two major parties:
Democrats 13% favorable
Republicans 16% favorable

According to Gallup's latest poll independents make up 45% of the electorate. The party that can convince these voters that they are going to make a positive difference in their lives, can become the dominant party. Democrats need to expand their appeal beyond the base.

In Texas, Talarico won the Democratic primary because he appealed these voters. He didn't make it all about the Republicans; he made it about them.

Somehow in recent decades the Democratic Party became less about winning elections and making a difference in people's lives, to more about just belonging, causing the problem of not relating to the rest of society.

[NoRethugFriends]

1. Yeah that always works so well

[displacedvermoter]

2. So so-called Independents

Last edited Sun Mar 8, 2026, 11:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Don't really like either party, and can't tell the difference, and so again we have to wait until the very last second to determine which ad campaign is the most effective come November?

And we will still have the same assortment of dumb ass Independent and Undecided voters on panels telling us they don't know enough about the candidates to be able to discern between a fascist and a progressive.

God I hate Sunday talk shows and the drivel they put forth

[PatSeg]

7. Same here

I quit watching the Sunday talk shows years ago.

[displacedvermoter]

8. Sunday Morning Gasbags

as a colleague describes them

[PatSeg]

13. Perfect description

[PatSeg]

14. Perfect description

[hatrack]

50. Q1. Obvious, plodding, overgeneralized question. A1. Regime talking point.

Q2. Another obvious, open-ended question.
A2. Regime talking point, but expanded with additional drippy, useless verbiage.

Q3. Softball question, i.e. "How does the president feel about X?"
A3. Regime talking point, shot through with folksy bullshit/emotional bullshit/lying bullshit.

Q4. Invitation to lie and repeat regime talking points at greater length.
A4. Expanded talking point repetition, but with personal attacks on (1) opposition politicians (2) ethnic or national minorities (3) voters who did not support Trump.

"Well, I'm afraid we're out of time!"

[mdbl]

16. And the same assortment of dumb ass lying ad campaigns to convince them they are smart to vote for the GOP.

It always seems to work on certain groups so they repeat it every election cycle.

[displacedvermoter]

17. Yes, indeed!

Not to mention our own batch of political consultants, rehashing ideas that worked for Clinton and Obama. Not working so well now.

[Walleye]

58. It's Soviet style propaganda straight out of Russia

[Ferrets are Cool]

53. Ding ding

[DenaliDemocrat]

3. Well if Democrats would quit

1) taking the bait on social issues that are rare and set to basically bait them

2) quit putting losing agendas (yes, I’m talking guns) At the front of the platform and

3) focus on economic and social JUSTICE issues - they would win

We ALWAYS take the bait. ALWAYS

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Independents are not all "moderates"

The data I have seen, including Pew Research surveys with sample sizes in the tens of thousands, show that the majority of moderates (and actually all Americans) support progressive policies when they aren’t identified with a particular party.

This includes sensible gun control laws, as well MFA, reproductive rights, LGBT rights, raising the minimum wage and raising taxes in billionaires.

The only consistent exceptions are the narrow wedge issue of trans teens in sports and immigration, although opinions on the latter have changed significantly over the past year.

[displacedvermoter]

11. Some might say guns are a "Social Justice" issue

but I understand what you are saying.

[DenaliDemocrat]

18. Guns are a losing issue

Americans like guns. I own guns. I believe in sensible gun laws. We are promoting some fairly extreme gun laws. Colorado passed a law that will make my Browning Auto Five illegal. That’s bad. Really bad. It’s going to hurt the Dems in the next election. It’s a losing battle.

Unisex bathrooms = losing battle. Leave it alone. It’s a minor issue. Worry about it after we get some economic reforms.

We know it’s a snake and we always pick it up.

[displacedvermoter]

24. Sorry about your Browning

Sorry the bathroom thing is so hurtful to you.

[DenaliDemocrat]

25. See, it's just this attitude

That makes us lose. The condescending snide remarks. My Brownong Auto Five has been around for 75 years. Along with the Remmington 1100 they are probably only second to the Remmington 870 as iconic shotguns. How many pheasants have been taken with them? Countless.

This is the shit that makes us lose.

[Omnipresent]

28. I hear you.

Before the 2024 election, i kept hearing people online and in person expressing themselves about not wanting men in women’s sports.

That turned out to be a “wedge issue” that helped drive voters to the polls…to vote for republicans.
The party did nothing to dispel this talk. All that was said is Kamala has momentum.

[DenaliDemocrat]

32. Yes. And it's affects a TINY fraction of people

That probably needs to be addressed on a 1 on 1 situation. Each case is unique. Each case deserves its own scrutiny. That’s all that has to be said “It’s complicated and each case should be examined and evaluated on its own merit”.

As for Kamala, California Democrats aren’t winning Nationwide elections. It’s not going to happen

[displacedvermoter]

36. I still feel bad that your Browning takes precedent over lots of other issues

And besides, I thought it was just determined that Harris lost because she was pro-genocide, unlike her opponent who was opposed to war in general.

And her sex and race likely had nothing to do with, either, I think you are saying.

[DenaliDemocrat]

38. I actually believe

Being from California was the #1 issue. Not race or gender.

As for my gun, yes. I live in an area where we have less than 2 people per square mile - it’s still classified as the frontier.

I’m sorry that you don’t take the Bill of Rights seriously and are willing to give up your rights. The Supreme Court ruled (and I believe correctly) the Second Amendment is an individual right, because the first ten kind of are geared to that paradigm.

[displacedvermoter]

40. I actually own a Bushmaster AR 15

And as a former USAF security policeman am extremely proficient with it, and I take the entire Constitution to be a sacred document I swore to uphold.

And as Charles Pierce says regularly, of course it was not about race, it's never about race.

[DenaliDemocrat]

42. I don't own an AR15

Because I have no use for it. I DO however own a .338 RUM that shoot a 250 grain bullet at 2900 fps. When you live where the bears are as big as 4H steers - size matters.

[Ferrets are Cool]

54. I don't personally care how proficient you are with it....it should be illegal to own a weapon of mass

distruction.

[displacedvermoter]

44. It (2nd Amendment) is supposed to

protect us from unconstitutional infringements, right? Don't see a lot of serious 2nd Amendment enthusiasts up in arms -- pun intended -- as we see all manner of criminal and extra legal activity being carried out by our government, in the same fashion we saw them screaming when Obama was going to take away their rights, which he never planned to do. Why is that, do you think?

Not about race, though, it is never about race

[DenaliDemocrat]

46. I have absolutely no idea WTF

You are trying to convey. That was not coherent. Care to actually string a few cogent sentences with actual context together?

[displacedvermoter]

47. I believe I said NRA types claim they need

To keep their guns to protect us from the government, but it seems to be the case only when they are afraid of black leaders and women they are not inclined to trust. I believe most gun humpers are racist cowards who don't seem as concerned with Trump and ICE fucking with society.

Plain enough, coherent, clear?

[DenaliDemocrat]

48. I guess, except

I’m not an NRA member. I’m just a guy who resents dumb gun laws that outlaw a gun that has been carried afield by 2.7 million pheasant and quail hunters because dumb asses make sweeping legislation that appears to be poorly written but just MIGHT have a hidden agenda. These are the same geniuses who want to reserve the BLM land for bison (that they will never go see anyway) while we are paying $7/lb for hamburger.

[LuvLoogie]

77. Lighten up, Francis.

[Walleye]

59. We can stand up for your right to own a gun, at the same time that we stand up for transgender rights to be full citize

Democrats support the whole constitution we’re not like cafeteria Catholics

[The Wizard]

26. What's wrong with unisex rest rooms if the door locks from the inside?

I see them everywhere with no issues.

[DenaliDemocrat]

33. There is nothing wrong with them

However, there is also nothing wrong with separate men and women’s, especially consider urinals speed up things for men, thus allowing smaller bathrooms with fewer stalls.

It doesn’t need to be politicized. Honestly, it just needs to be let go.

[NoRethugFriends]

80. Uh huh

You know, most men pee at urinals facing the urinal.
So unisex with urinals is fine.
Oh, and I don't give a damn about your high-powered guns. Are they part of a militia, as in the Bill of rights?

[DenaliDemocrat]

86. Nice try

Supreme Court has ruled it’s an INDIVIDUAL right, as are all the Amendments in the Bill of Rights. They say what the GOVERNMENT CANNOT do to you.

I have no idea what facing the wall has to do with unisex bathrooms. Are you okay?

[NoRethugFriends]

87. Oh you're a supreme Court advocate now.

In case you can't figure it out, if the guy is facing the urinal any woman who comes into the restroom will not see anything but the back of the guy. I'm sure she would faint if she saw the front though.
You are transparent.

[jimmy the one]

35. False dichotomy; Americans do not like guns.

You: Americans like guns. I own guns.

I reject this premise. Only 32% of Americans personally own a gun, so the solid majority do not.
About 40 to 44% American households have a gun, ergo over 55% of households do not, a Supreme Court majority at 5 to 4.
In other words, most Americans do NOT like firearms. To me they have become more a threat than a safety measure, more the problem than the solution.
I used to own a s&w 5 shot pump 12 gauge but never hunted. Also a ruger 22 cal short rifle semiauto. Got rid of them after I left the navy, where I was a marksman, and became appalled at the gun lobby. The ruger I only ever shot into soft ground once a year to ensure it still worked. Some skeet with the sg. Will never own a gun again.

You contend Colorado passed a law to make your browning shotgun (I presume) illegal.
This is not what this website says .. the bill does not ban the current possession of these firearms.
.. the bill does not ban the possession of these semi-automatic firearms. Current owners would be allowed to keep their rifles, pistols, and shotguns... (but could not purchase new, transfer or sell..)
https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/firearm-hunting/what-hunters-should-know-about-colorados-first-in-the-nation-gun-ban

I sort of agree (I thinks) on one issue, that of banning assault rifles/weapons. The horse are out of the barn. In 2004 when the clinton assault rifle ban was not renewed by republicans under gwbush, there were approx 400,000 assault rifles in America. Today 20 years later there are estimated 10 to 20 millions. The horse are out of the barn; a new awb would be a cosmetic fix but do little towards blunting mass shootings or carnage from the ar15 and those two NATO rounds, .223.
A 10 round magazine limit I would go with, but regrettably, let any federal assault weapon ban be abandoned. Would help appease pro gun democrats, such as yourself.
I agree with banning trans athletes achieving fame, wolves in sheeps clothing.
Cheers Denali.

--- Not an ego, jimmy the one is a British naval term-----

[DenaliDemocrat]

39. I reject your false narrative.

I never said it outlawed the possession of my Auto 5. It makes it ILLEGAL to sell or buy - and it’s stupid.

I support 1) universal background checks

I support 2) mental health checks for purchases

I don’t support dummies who try to outlaw a shotgun that has been carried afield by over 2.7 million hunters.

[jimmy the one]

76. People can still buy these -banned guns- legally

I never said it outlawed the possession of my Auto 5..

Yes you did: Colorado passed a law which would make my Browning Auto 5 illegal.

That your remark is ambiguous and subject to different interpretations is beside the point, since one interpretation implies that mere possession of the gun is illegal.
You as author have final say, within reason, as to your intent. I fully understood you meant future purchases and reselling and I noted this in my reply: ... 'but could not purchase new, transfer or sell.'

You: It makes it illegal to sell or buy.

You neglect to mention that your gun, and the others subjected to the ban, can evidently be purchased legally by passing a background check and then obtaining an eligibility check from your sheriff, and then taking a 4 hour or 12 hour firearms safety course.
From my link: 'Upon completion of these courses, the applicant will then be permitted to purchase the banned firearms in question.'
So you must indeed jump thru some hoops to legally buy one, but it is not a total ban.

It appears the ban rationale has to do with add on caveats such as detachable magazines and using center fire ammo. Dunno if shotguns use centerfire or rim fire, I think maybe both, one or the other depending on the gun. My s&w 12 gauge did not have a detachable magazine.
I also believe the 2nd amendment pertained to a well regulated militia, and the current individual rights interpretation is a subversion of the bill of rights, enabled by far right wing republicans.

[thucythucy]

78. My disabled spouse and i depended on unisex bathrooms

whenever we were out in the world.

As do hundreds of thousands of other mixed--disabled and non-disabled--couples.

In fact, most accessible bathrooms are in fact "unisex." Otherwise the cost of providing ADA compliant access to public toilets would double, and then you'd hear people grousing about the "expense" of access.

I would argue that throwing the disability community under the bus is neither moral nor politically astute.

[Cosmocat]

19. Been saying for decades

That Ds always lose on "culture" issues and need to gtfo out of them.

Personally, I believe they were right to push for firearm control, but agree that we are now well past the point that its a hopeless cause and they should publicly take it off the table.

[Polybius]

20. Add lowering speed limits to 2

I don't know why we take that stupid position. I'm not talking 70 mph or anything like that. I'm talking lowering the NYC speed limit to 20 mph.

[exboyfil]

27. Problem with taking the bait

1. No response or a response not widely disseminated allows the narrative to be set.

2. Agree with you on guns.

3. Define social justice. We are currently seeing the response to the blanket statement that there is no reverse discrimination. Any action that is race based is going to be a loser for quite some time.

[Raven123]

51. Just curious. How do I discern rare social issues from social justice?

[dem4decades]

4. Is this the Gallop poll that stopped doing polls that unfavorable to Trump? Enough said. It's a new reality out there.

[Scrivener7]

6. A good PR campaign would help us a lot. And it's not hard to do.

[usonian]

9. Define "Independent"

I happen to know someone (ahem) who registered as independent for years just to have way more leverage in these "polls" than Democrats or Republicans.

[SamuelTheThird]

10. Gallup is not reliable

[kacekwl]

12. There is no such thing as an

Independent voter. My opinion.

[everyonematters]

15. The current state

Somehow in recent decades the Democratic Party became less about winning elections and making a difference in people's lives, to more about just belonging, causing the problem of not relating to the rest of society.

[Keepthesoulalive]

31. The problem is the Americans and their selfishness

The democrats tried to get a healthcare bill passed and the public said socialism and they are gonna kill grandma. Single issue voters and voters that are easily swayed by bull crap.

[31st Street Bridge]

57. Too many Americans are dumber than a brick sandwich

They'll vote against things that help them just to own the libs.

[Keepthesoulalive]

85. Definitely

[everyonematters]

69. The big problem is wages.

[Keepthesoulalive]

84. When I see a cop he doesn't give a damn how much money I make

He only sees the color of my skin and proceeds to follow me me. Money will not make everyone equal, just ask the people from South America.

[Takket]

21. The problem is always messaging

Specifically the right wing cesspool that is the media and social media now.

Indies hate the gop because the see they are awful. Big they hate the democrats because everyone is TELLING them Democrats are awful.

[Cosmocat]

22. T H I S

1,000%

[Scrivener7]

30. BUT this has been an issue for decades. We took

control of social media under Obama and it made a big difference, but we lost that edge.

Decades. It's time we came up with a solution. For example, I've read that 80% of the social media misinformation in the 2015 campaign came from 80 social media accounts plus bots.

We need to do that.

[everyonematters]

67. It is not a messaging problem. It is a trust problem.

[ananda]

23. What bs.

kFor the past 25 years we've been
dealing with corrupt Republican politicians and courts
gsming elections criminally in their favor.

[sboatcar]

29. Democrats need to stop edging to the right every time an election doesn't go their way.

There's a LOT of people further on the left that don't vote or vote third party because of the gradual march toward the right that a lot of establishment democrats have taken. We need to be aggressive progressives and stop trying to pander to those on the right who won't vote for democrats anyway.

[The Revolution]

37. Is there any evidence for that?

I've seen it claimed many times that there is this vast pool of far left voters just waiting to be activated. But is there any evidence that that is the case?

My understanding was that was the theory Jasmine Crockett was running on, but she didn't even win the Democratic primary.

Seems like it should be easy to test though. Take some of these "safe" Republican seats and run someone way to the left. If the theory is true, we should see the candidates at least overperform expectations or other recent candidates.

And even if this pool of voters does exist, part of me wants to say "fuck 'em" if they still can't see the difference between the parties.

[sboatcar]

49. Take a look a John Fetterman

[everyonematters]

64. ?

[Gore1FL]

52. It started in 1984

We have yet to nominate a presidential candidate that opposed Reaganomics.

[The Revolution]

73. Joe Biden

Absolutely did. The problem, as usual, is that we couldn't communicate it, even to everyone on our side. And also that the changes he implemented would take time to actually show an effect.

https://smry.ai/proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fmagazine%2F2024%2F11%2F04%2Fbidenomics-is-starting-to-transform-america-why-has-no-one-noticed

Bidenomics Is Starting to Transform America. Why Has No One Noticed?

Real Bidenomics upends a set of economic assumptions that have prevailed in both parties for most of the past half century. Biden is the first President in decades to treat government as the designer and ongoing referee of markets, rather than as the corrector of markets’ dislocations and excesses after the fact.

What would you call these policies? One apt label might be “post-neoliberal,” a term that does not resonate at all with the public. Another way of thinking about Biden’s approach is through terminology devised by the political scientist Jacob Hacker: it rejects redistribution as a guiding liberal principle, in favor of “predistribution,” an effort to transform the economy in a way that makes redistribution less necessary.

The lesson for the next Democratic president is probably that we need to have some policies that will have some obvious impact in the short term, and be sure people know it was because of you.

[Gore1FL]

75. Tax rates for the top bracket are less than 70%

If he was against it, he didn’t succeed in changing it.

[everyonematters]

65. I don't think that it is a problem of left or right. It is problem of connecting.

[The Revolution]

71. Yes, agreed

I don't know that people care about left or right so much, but they want someone who will do something to help. So you need to have some policy ideas, but also be able to communicate with people in a genuine way (or at least come off as genuine, even if you are not). We know there were people who supported Bernie Sanders, then turned around and voted for Trump.

[everyonematters]

66. I don't think it is a problem of right or left. It is a problem of connecting.

[Cirsium]

34. Right on schedule

Time to dump on the base.

[everyonematters]

63. Time to get with reality.

[Cirsium]

74. Right!

[Zambero]

41. I guess that's why they are self-described Independents?

As most have opined that both major parties leave something to be desired? I have a pretty good sense of which party's candidates these 71% of poll respondents would favor if the election were held today, and it would not be the MAGA-Trump party.

[everyonematters]

62. That is because they are disgusted with Trump, not because they believe in us.

[Zambero]

88. Exactly

A major gripe about Dems is that they are not able to rein Trump in, which is a tall order given that the GOP holds sway over all three branches of the federal governemnt,

[betsuni]

43. No third party,. Republican/Independent/non-voters aren't secretly socialist/progressive populists yearning to rise

up in solidarity against old meanie out-of-touch wealthy elite Democrats ignoring us with things "not relating to the rest of society" like health care, Social Security, infrastructure, civil rights, voting rights, economic and environmental regulations and green technology, good relationships with other countries and diplomacy, reproductive freedom, support of unions and education and science, taxing the wealthy and corporations, student debt relief, etc. -- government that works.

The Democratic Party does make positive differences in people's lives, of course. Don't understand the point of this OP.

[everyonematters]

61. Not enough. The big issue is wages.

[betsuni]

82. Whose wages? Seattle voted for a $15 minimum wage in 2014.

The Fight for Fifteen has been successful as a grassroots movement to increase wages across the country since 2012. Democratic controlled cities and states have higher minimum wages, as everyone knows. Democrats haven't had the votes to increase wages on a national level, Republicans controlling the House in six our of eight years of the Clinton and Obama administrations and two of Biden's.

If people want higher wages they need to vote for Democrats. What's the next goalpost?

[everyonematters]

83. No they don't know it. When was the last time they even put it up for a vote?

The next time we get full control, we need to end the filibuster and stop worrying about what the Republicans are going to do.

[Wednesdays]

45. Huh. Democrats polling at 13 percent?

So that's why we've won every special election since 2025?
Every. Single. One.

[everyonematters]

60. They are voting for us because they are disgusted with Trump, not because they believe in us.

[Quiet Em]

68. They know what's on the table

The difference between the two parties is pretty damn obvious.

I can spell it out for them in simple terms.

Republicans - fiscal policy = enrich the wealthy
social policy = erode civil rights

Democrats - fiscal policy = lift up the people
social policy = protect civil rights

[everyonematters]

70. The big problem is wages. Too many people are struggling, and they don't see either party making a

difference.

[Demixs]

81. Except this one

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5226000-florida-republican-randy-fine-special-election/amp/

[walkingman]

55. The number of "ammosexuals" that are in our society is just weird...and dangerous.

I grew up with guns, still have them, and find the infatuation with them to be an obvious cultural issue. If you carry a gun with you everywhere you gun, it speaks to your attitude about our society and not in a positive way. In my part of the country...Texas...conservatives are the worst. Just weird.

[somsai]

56. When voting there are only two choices, and we need to be the better choice

Trump is horrible, to get votes we need to be better.

Not sure Talarico is a great example. If the Rs run someone worse he'll win, otherwise Rs will run loops of the crazy things Talarico has said and he has quite a history.

[kimbutgar]

72. These independents are lying they are really repukes and are too embarrassed to admit it!

[LuvLoogie]

79. I'm skeptical of arguments which include throwing marginalized people under the bus

in order to win elections.