Shawn Griffiths
WASHINGTON DC - Independent voters are dissatisfied with the US government and want to see Republicans and Democrats work together under the Trump administration. This is according to a new poll released by The Independent Center.
The Independent Center released the results last week from a survey of 500 self-identified independent voters and 400 Republican-leaning independents. It is the first installment to a four-part series that examines what independents want and expect under the new administration.
According to the data, 64% of independents and Republican-leaning independents said they hope "Trump finds a way to work across the aisle and pass bipartisan measures for our country." What's more, most want to see his success come from bipartisan cooperation.
There is a substantial 46-point margin that favors bipartisan success among independents (58% vs. 12%) compared to the 10-point margin (37% vs. 27%) in favor of partisan success.
“Our survey of independent voters reveals a strong preference for the Trump administration to collaborate and reach bipartisan agreement to generate solutions for the big issues facing Americans," said Lura Forcum, president of The Independent Center.
"The quickest way for the new administration to lose independents’ support is to double down on the MAGA agenda without input from everyone else at the table. Congressional margins are simply too tight to enact meaningful change otherwise.”
This comes at a time in US politics marred by extreme hyper-polarization. Cooperation with the "other side" is not only discouraged, but it can also cause politicians to be ostracized by their own party. This may be why only a handful of independent voters approve of Congress.
The numbers show that only 12% of independent voters and 14% of Republican-leaning independents approve of Congress' job performance, which matches the number from each survey group that believe their voice is heard in Washington DC.
The Independent Center says the clear support for bipartisan cooperation shows that there is no question independents advocate "for a different approach to governance entirely." However, because most voters don't feel heard, the data "establishes a clear call for political change approach."
The status quo incentivizes division, as seen in the focus by political leaders to make their base happy. But neither party's base comes close to making up a majority in the US. In fact, polling over the last few years shows that party ID for either party more often than not fails to break 30%.
To address this, voters have to look at an election system that at every level puts outsized power and influence in the hands of the few rather than the many -- which prevents voters from getting the representation and the response from political leaders they want to see.
However, if elected leaders want to sway the increasingly important independent voting bloc, The Independent Center's data offers a clear opportunity: Embrace cooperation across the aisle and put solutions above partisan policy.