Partisans Often Disagree With Their Party

A Pew survey of 5,103 U.S. adults (April 20–26, 2026) finds that while most Democrats and Republicans place themselves on their side of center, average self‑ratings are nearer the middle than the extremes and only about one in four give their party the exact same ideological score as themselves. Substantial minorities in each coalition rate themselves as either more liberal or more conservative than their party, and those who see themselves as more extreme than their party rate the party less favorably. — If many partisans perceive a gap between their own views and their party’s, that increases the scope for intra‑party conflict, primary challenges, moderated messaging, and unpredictable coalition shifts ahead of elections.