Pew Research Center

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 8, 2006

Centrists Deliver for Democrats

In an election that proved to be a referendum on Bush and Iraq, political independents cast the deciding votes

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Pew Research Center, November 2006, "Centrists Deliver for Democrats"

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Centrists Deliver for Democrats

In an election that proved to be a referendum on Bush and Iraq, political independents cast the deciding votes

The political center forcefully asserted itself in Tuesday’s midterms. The national exit poll showed that political independents, who divided their votes evenly between George Bush and John Kerry in 2004, swung decisively in favor of the Democrats. With roughly nine-in-ten Republicans and Democrats casting ballots for representatives of their parties, just as they did two years ago, the Democrats’ 57%-39% advantage among independents proved crucial.

Read the full analysis at pewresearch.org