Independents Desire More Moderate Candidates from Both Political Parties 

New Survey Adds to Growing Evidence that many Americans are Exhausted From Polarized Politics

October 12, 2022 – According to a new survey released by More in Common U.S., LX News and YouGov, independents believe both Democrats and Republicans need more moderate candidates. These findings are based on a nationwide survey that asked adult U.S. citizens about their attitudes towards the 2022 midterm elections and their feelings about how to best influence politics.

Nearly 50% of Americans desire more moderate candidates from both parties. Among independents, 54% want to see more moderate Democrats while 49% want to see more moderate Republicans.

Partisans are much more likely to call for more moderate candidates from the opposing party than their own:

• 66% of Republicans think Democrats need more moderate candidates.
• This is compared to 38% of Democrats.
• 66% of Democrats think Republicans need more moderate candidates
• This is compared to 30% of Republicans.

“This reflects a growing body of evidence showing many Americans are exhausted by the polarization and political rhetoric. The divisive language we see in politics is reinforcing feelings of the “Exhausted Majority,” said Dan Vallone, executive director of More in Common U.S.

Republicans and Democrats who wanted to see more moderate candidates in their own party tended to be less ideologically extreme and more likely to say they belonged to their party because of their family or friends as opposed to how their party aligned with their values.

“Exhausted Majority” is a term coined by More in Common U.S. following a study in 2018 that found Americans who are:

• Fed up with the polarization plaguing American government and society
• Often forgotten in the public discourse, overlooked because their voices are seldom heard
• Flexible in their views and willing to endorse different policies according to the precise situation rather than sticking ideologically to a single set of beliefs
• Of the belief that we can find common ground
  

This month’s wide-ranging survey also found that 80% of registered voters plan to vote this November. Among the 17% of Americans who say they will not vote in the 2022 midterm elections, around 1 in 5 feel their votes do not matter. Many respondents also indicated that there are other factors that influenced their decision not to vote. Gen-Z Americans who do not plan to vote listed a “lack of knowledge on the issues or the candidates” as the major reason to not vote.

The survey was completed in partnership with LX News, a national NBC broadcast and streaming network, and it was conducted by YouGov, an international polling company. NBC coverage of the survey can be found here.

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About More in Common U.S.
More in Common U.S. is a non-partisan research and civic nonprofit that studies the forces pulling America apart, seeking to disrupt polarization and forge a stronger sense of what Americans have in common.