Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll
Gallup data shows largest party advantage since 2008 ahead of US midterm elections.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
People fill out ballots as a poll worker makes a phone call on Election Day for the midterm primary on June 9 at Dreher High School in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Photograph: Newsweek (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Democrats now hold a 10-point lead over Republicans in party identification, according to a second-quarter 2026 Gallup poll.
- This 49% to 39% advantage for Democrats is the largest recorded by Gallup tracking since 2008.
- The poll data is seen as a key indicator of the political climate ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections.
- Newsweek reported that the Republican National Committee was contacted for comment on the poll results.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
28/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
A second-quarter 2026 Gallup poll found that 49% of US adults identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, while 39% identify as Republicans or lean Republican. This 10-point lead for Democrats is the largest recorded in Gallup's tracking since 2008. The poll also indicated that 31% of adults identify outright as Democrats and 25% identify outright as Republicans.
The Gallup data is being presented as a significant indicator of the political landscape leading into the 2026 midterm elections. Newsweek noted that this represents a reversal from the end of 2024, when Republicans held a slight advantage. The outlet also reported that the Republican National Committee was contacted for comment on the poll.
Disagreement on the largest lead
Newsweek reported that the 10-point Democratic advantage is the largest lead for Democrats in Gallup’s tracking since at least 2015. Other outlets stated it is the biggest lead since 2008.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports published below mention any comment from the Republican National Committee.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 5 Sept 2026, 23:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll
Joe.My.God. — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports from The Independent (US) and Joe.My.God. highlighted the 10-point lead Democrats hold over Republicans, citing it as the largest party-affiliation advantage in more than a decade, and the widest gap since 2008. Joe.My.God. also noted the New York Times reporting on the Gallup data. Alternet and Phil's Stock World, which are also rated left, published headlines about a "critical failure" and "sinking propaganda machine" for Republicans, suggesting the poll results are a sign of backlash against the party and the president.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from Newsweek and Political Wire focused on the 10-point lead Democrats hold over Republicans in party identification, as shown by the Gallup poll. Newsweek noted this is the largest lead since at least 2015 and presented the data as a warning sign for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Political Wire also cited the New York Times in its reporting on the Gallup data, stating the shift signals the party's largest advantage since 2008.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll biased?
- Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Democrats hold 10-point lead over Republicans in new poll?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What does the latest Gallup poll show about party identification in the US?
- The second-quarter 2026 Gallup poll found that 49% of US adults identify as Democrats or lean Democratic, compared to 39% who identify as Republicans or lean Republican. This gives Democrats a 10-point lead, the largest since 2008.
- How does this poll compare to previous years?
- The 10-point lead for Democrats is the largest recorded by Gallup's tracking since 2008. Newsweek noted it represents a significant reversal from the end of 2024, when Republicans held a slight advantage in party identification.
- What is the significance of this poll for upcoming elections?
- The Gallup data is considered a key indicator of the political environment ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. The shift in party identification is seen by some reports as a warning sign for the Republican Party.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Democrats outnumber Republicans in new poll ahead of midterms (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Democrats outnumber Republicans in new poll ahead of midterms (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Gallup: Dems Outnumber Republicans By Ten Points (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Critical failure: Republicans’ unsinkable propaganda machine is sinking (opens Alternet in a new tab)
Alternet — is Alternet biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
