As a group, Democrats are more likely than average to be female and non-white, less likely to be religious or married, much less likely to be conservative, and much more likely to be liberal than the U.S. population as a whole

Between the start of 2008 and November 2011, the percentage of Americans identifying as Democrats or leaning Democratic has fallen from 50% to 43%. The percentage identifying as Republicans has risen from 37% to 40%, while the percentage of pure independents who do not lean toward either party has gone from 12% to 15%.