Pew Research Center’s Newest Study “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology” and What It Means for Politics
November 15, 2021
Last week, the Pew Research Center released its latest political typology report. Pew states that the study “provides a road map to today’s fractured political landscape.” With the country still processing the Republican gains in Virginia and New Jersey on November 2, the study arrived at a prime time to preview what is trending in politics.
Pew divided the survey respondents into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. The study is primarily based on a survey of 10,221 adults conducted July 8-18, 2021.
The report confirms the conventional wisdom that polarization is rampant in the United States. Democrats and Republicans agree on very little except that they have little in common. In addition, the study shows that Americans are divided within political parties as well.
The study has implications for who controls Congress. While much of the focus has been on divisions in the Democratic Party between moderates and progressives, the study finds that the Republican Party faces the same amount of internal division.
Political pundits agree that the Democrats will have a hard time holding the majority in the House, and this study confirms that Republicans have an advantage in having more of a sense of urgency about who is in charge in Washington. Further, Republicans believe more than Democrats that next year’s mid-term elections “really matter.”
Read the study here.