Third Force: Why Independents Turned Against Democrats -- and How to Win Them Back
Post-Election Voter Survey
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Abstract
Independent voters are a critical new third force in American politics. In the 1994 midterm elections they directed their anger solely at ruling Democrats who promised change but seemed unable to produce it, White House pollster Stanley B. Greenberg concludes in this new study of independent voters from the Democratic Leadership Council. Even so, the vote against the Democrats was not a vote of confidence in the Republican Party or its agenda, and Greenberg says the independents identify strongly with a New Democrat agenda. In the survey, independent voters reported a strong preference (52 to 34 percent) for a New Democrat who "believes government should help people equip themselves to solve their own problems" over a Republican who "leaves people alone to solve their own problems." This report is a companion to the DLC's landmark 1993 study of Perot voters, The Road to Realignment. It includes a post-election analysis by DLC President Al From and PPI President Will Marshall, as well as a report on independent voters in Macomb County, Michigan by Tom Mirga, editor of The New Democrat.
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