---
title: "Republicans: Fewer, More Conservative"
description: "Slightly more than a quarter of registered voters call themselves Republicans, a low in 16 years of polling by the Pew Research Center; most GOPers now think their party should move further to the right."
date: "2009-04-07"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2009/04/07/republicans-fewer-more-conservative/"
---

# Republicans: Fewer, More Conservative

Among registered voters, 28% call themselves Republicans, a decline of five points since 2004 and only a point above a [record low](/pubs/773/fewer-voters-identify-as-republicans) level of Republican self-identification in 16 years of polling by the Pew Research Center, found in March 2008. Nearly four-in-ten voters (38%) identify as Democrats and 34% self-identify as independents. These data are based on more than 28,000 interviews conducted during 2008 prior to the election. Among voters who now identify as Republican or Republican-leaning, roughly two-thirds (68%) identify themselves as conservative, and of the conservatives, three-quarters think the party should [turn further to the right](/pubs/1032/high-marks-for-campaign-high-bar-for-obama). While a majority of moderates and liberals within the party advocate a centrist approach (66%), they make up fewer than a third (31%) of Republican voters overall. As a result, 60% of all Republican voters support a more conservative direction for the party. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1015/democratic-party-identification-swing-states)