--- title: "Democrats and Republicans engage in public life in similar ways" description: "Each of the two major parties includes people who are deeply involved in public life – across politics, community, religion and news – and those who are less so." date: "2026-07-16" authors: - name: "Elisa Shearer" job_title: "Senior Researcher" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/elisa-shearer/" - name: "Luxuan Wang" job_title: "Research Associate" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/luxuan-wang/" - name: "Katerina Eva Matsa" job_title: "Director, News and Information Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/katerina-eva-matsa/" - name: "Michael Lipka" job_title: "Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-lipka/" - name: "Benjamin Toff" job_title: "Visiting Principal Researcher" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/benjamin-toff/" - name: "Kirsten Eddy" job_title: "Senior Researcher" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kirsten-eddy/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/democrats-and-republicans-engage-in-public-life-in-similar-ways/" categories: - "Beliefs & Practices" - "News Habits & Media" - "Political & Civic Engagement" - "Uncategorized" --- # Democrats and Republicans engage in public life in similar ways **About this research** This report from the [Pew-Knight Initiative](https://www.pewresearch.org/collections/pew-knight-initiative/) examines how Americans engage in public life across a range of activities, including politics, civic and community involvement, news consumption and religious participation. It analyzes how patterns of engagement, when clustered together, can form distinct groups within the U.S. public. It also explores how these *engagement groups* differ in their demographics, attitudes and levels of civic knowledge. The report draws from nationally representative surveys of U.S. adults (refer to “How we did this” below). Many questions in these surveys asked about behaviors in the past 12 months, which for most respondents included the 2024 presidential election. Responses reflect the activities Americans took part in during this specific period. Patterns around political activity in particular may look somewhat different at other points in the political cycle. #### Why we did this People participate in public life in different ways – from voting and volunteering to following the news and taking part in religious or community activities. But these behaviors are often studied separately, making it difficult to see how they come together in people’s day-to-day lives. We conducted this study to provide a more integrated picture of how the public engages across these different domains. We also used a specially designed survey with the awareness that some surveys can struggle to reach Americans who are less likely to participate in public life – because these same people also may be less likely to participate in surveys. #### How we did this This analysis draws on two Pew Research Center surveys. The main data source is the Cross‑Sectional Engagement Survey, fielded July 9 to Dec. 5, 2025, among 5,393 adults. People could respond online, on paper or by telephone, and we reached out multiple times to people who didn’t initially respond. Refer to the [methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/methodology-engagement/) for details. We also used data from Wave 179 of the American Trends Panel (ATP), a nationally representative panel of randomly selected U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 8-14, 2025, among 5,195 respondents via web and phone. To classify Americans into engagement groups, we did a cluster analysis of the Cross-Sectional Engagement Survey based on 19 measures of participation across the range of activities mentioned above. Respondents in the ATP survey were assigned to these groups based on how similar their patterns of behavior were to those identified in the cross‑sectional survey. We used the ATP survey to examine engagement groups’ levels of civic knowledge and views of politics and news. Refer to “[How we measured Americans’ engagement in public life](https://www.pewresearch.org/decoded/2026/07/16/how-we-measured-americans-engagement-in-public-life/)” for details on questionnaire design and data analysis approaches. Here are the [survey questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_questionnaire.pdf), the [detailed responses](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/methodology-engagement/). Democrats and Republicans [differ on many issues](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/30/most-americans-say-republican-and-democratic-voters-cannot-agree-on-basic-facts/). But when it comes to how partisans show up in public life, they look strikingly similar. Each of the two major U.S. political parties includes people who are deeply involved in public life – across politics, community, religion and news – and those who do almost none of these things, including many who are [not especially interested in politics](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/engagement-in-public-life-is-linked-to-americans-views-of-politics-news/). But some patterns around partisanship and politics did emerge in our new study, which sorted Americans into four *engagement groups* by how they answered questions about participating in public life. For example, Democrats are slightly more likely to be Spectators, while Republicans are a bit more likely to be Connectors. And Mobilizers are the least likely to define their views as moderate. One thing to keep in mind: This survey was conducted in fall 2025, with many questions asking whether people participated in certain ways in the *past 12 months*. Some political activities – like attending marches, contacting officials or volunteering for campaigns – are sensitive to the political environment of the moment. For most respondents, the year in question included the 2024 presidential election. But in later months, Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress – which may mean that Democrats were more likely to take action than they would have been during a Democratic administration. ### Democrats and Republicans have similar patterns of engagement ### Americans in the 2 major parties have similar patterns of engagement; independents are less engaged *% of U.S. adults who are categorized into each engagement group* | | Mobilizers | Connectors | Spectators | Outsiders | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Republicans | 10 | 36 | 26 | 28 | | | | | | | | Democrats | 13 | 29 | 35 | 23 | | | | | | | | NET Independent/Other | 6 | 22 | 32 | 39 | | Lean Rep | 6 | 22 | 34 | 38 | | Lean Dem | 9 | 24 | 33 | 34 | | No answer | 2 | 18 | 28 | 50 | Note: Engagement groups are based on a cluster analysis that sorted Americans into four groups based on their responses to 19 questions about political activity, civic involvement, religious attendance and attention to news. “No answer” group includes those who did not answer the question asking if they leaned toward either party. Respondents who were not categorized into an engagement group are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025. “How Americans Are Engaged With News, Politics, Religion and Civic Life” There are only modest differences between Republicans and Democrats in terms of who falls into each of the four engagement groups. For example, Connectors make up a slightly larger share of the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, while the reverse is true for Spectators. Independents who *lean* toward either party are more likely than those who identify as Democrats or Republicans to be Outsiders. And independents who don’t lean toward either party are *much* more likely to be categorized as Outsiders, and only 2% are Mobilizers. Refer to the [key findings](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/how-americans-are-engaged-with-news-politics-religion-and-civic-life/) of this report for an analysis that looks at the political makeup of each engagement group. #### About the engagement groups This study sorts Americans into four groups based on their answers to 19 questions about how they engage (or don’t engage) in society through political activity, civic involvement, religious service attendance and attention to news. The four groups are: ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_mobilizers.png) **Mobilizers: Doing it all.** This group is the smallest and the most active across politics, civics, news and religion. ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_connectors.png) **Connectors: Involved, but less political. **This group is larger than the Mobilizers and also highly engaged in many ways – including joining groups and making donations – but much less likely than the Mobilizers to be heavily involved in political activities. ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_spectators.png)** Spectators**: **Keeping an eye on things.** They follow the news at high rates but are much less likely than the more engaged groups to participate directly in other ways. ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/PJ_26.07.16_engagement_outsiders.png)** Outsiders**​: **Less involved in most ways.** This group is less likely than others to report taking part in most of the activities we asked about – including voting, volunteering and following the news. [Read more about the study and the engagement groups.](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/how-americans-are-engaged-with-news-politics-religion-and-civic-life/) ### Outsiders and Spectators are more likely to identify as politically moderate ### Less engaged groups are more likely to identify as politically moderate *% of U.S. adults in each engagement group who describe their political views as …* | | Conservative | Moderate | Liberal | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mobilizers | 37 | 26 | 37 | | Connectors | 42 | 35 | 21 | | Spectators | 27 | 43 | 26 | | Outsiders | 27 | 48 | 16 | Note: Conservatives and liberals include those who say they are conservative/liberal or “very” conservative/liberal. Engagement groups are based on a cluster analysis that sorted Americans into four groups based on their responses to 19 questions about political activity, civic involvement, religious attendance and attention to news. Respondents who refused to answer the question about how they describe their political views are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025. “How Americans Are Engaged With News, Politics, Religion and Civic Life” How do members of each engagement group vary in terms of how they describe their political *ideology*? Outsiders (48%) and Spectators (43%) are more likely than Connectors (35%) or Mobilizers (26%) to describe their views as moderate. But Mobilizers and Connectors differ from one another in their ideological balance. While identical shares of Mobilizers describe themselves as conservative (37%) and liberal (37%), Connectors include twice as many conservatives (42%) as liberals (21%). Outsiders also lean conservative (27% conservative vs. 16% liberal), while Spectators include roughly equal shares of conservatives (27%) and liberals (26%). ### How those in each engagement group say they voted in 2024 ### Self-reported voting patterns in 2024 election varied across engagement groups  *% of U.S. adults in each engagement group who say they voted for __ in the 2024 election* | | Donald Trump | Kamala Harris | Another candidate | Did not vote | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mobilizers | 34 | 51 | 2 | 12 | | Connectors | 44 | 38 | 1 | 11 | | Spectators | 21 | 25 | 1 | 49 | | Outsiders | 22 | 15 | 1 | 56 | Note: “Did not vote” includes people who were too young or not eligible to vote in the election. Data is weighted to 2024 turnout and vote choice benchmarks. Engagement groups are based on a cluster analysis that sorted Americans into four groups based on their responses to 19 questions about political activity, civic involvement, religious attendance and attention to news. Respondents who did not answer are not shown. Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 9-Dec. 5, 2025. “How Americans Are Engaged With News, Politics, Religion and Civic Life” Voting patterns in the 2024 U.S. presidential election differed within each engagement group. About half of Mobilizers (51%) say they voted for Kamala Harris, while 34% say they voted for Donald Trump. Connectors leaned modestly toward Trump over Harris (44% vs. 38%), as did Outsiders (22% vs. 15%). Both Spectators and Outsiders were much less likely than Mobilizers or Connectors to report voting at all – about half of Spectators (49%) and a majority of Outsiders (56%) say they did not vote. (Whether or not someone reported voting in 2024 was also a factor in how they were [sorted into these groups](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/methodology-engagement/).) --- **Next:** [Engagement in public life is linked with Americans’ views of politics, news](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2026/07/16/engagement-in-public-life-is-linked-with-americans-views-of-politics-news.md)