A Pew Research Center typology finds that published shares for five politically mixed groups total 62% of U.S. adults, but the categories do not amount to one unified political bloc.
The 62% is the sum of rounded figures: 23% for right-leaning groups with mixed partisan ties, 30% for left-leaning mixed groups and 9% for the Tuned-Out Middle, a politically divided and disconnected group. The total describes the size of these categories; it does not establish that their members share a common set of positions.
Pew based the typology on a survey of 10,357 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025, through its American Trends Panel. It used 30 questions about political and social values, along with cluster analysis, to sort respondents into nine groups. Four highly ideological and partisan groups account for 38% of the public: 21% on the right and 17% on the left. The 2026 report is the ninth edition of a series that began in 1987.
Pew found wide gaps among groups on abortion. It reported that 83% of Faith First Conservatives and 73% of No Apologies Right said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, compared with 2% of Leftward Progressives and 4% of Loyal Liberals. Those figures draw on surveys conducted Nov. 17-30, 2025, and Jan. 20-26, 2026.
A 2022 study in The Journal of Politics reported that partisans often viewed typical voters from the opposing party as more extreme and engaged than they were. The researchers also found that giving partisans information about those voters’ views reduced hostility toward the other party.
NPR reported that Trump supporter Shanna Berry and her more liberal friend Alma Ong agreed that Nicolas Maduro should no longer govern Venezuela. NPR said Berry was unsure whether the operation was lawful and questioned whether oil was a motive. Kristin Laurin, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, told NPR: “Our perceived polarization far outstrips the actual polarization.”
Pew says the varied political concerns represented in the groups can make it harder for Democrats and Republicans to build broad coalitions. The report includes survey responses about whether it matters which party wins control of Congress in November 2026; it does not forecast how people in the groups will vote.
