How many people in the US are Democrats?

Answer 1

That is, believe it or not, a difficult question to answer for sure.

As parties change their stances, choose new candidates, and go through periods of weakness and strength, the numbers of party members can change dramatically. Also, keep in mind that many Americans choose not to identify with one party or the other, preferring to call themselves independents. Studies have found that many independents do actually vote for one party most of the time, but do not consider themselves partisans, making it harder to figure out exactly how much support a party has. Measuring membership is difficult, since relatively few voters (even very partisan ones) are involved in party operations, and few donate to campaigns. Probably the best way to define party strength is through voters' self-identification.

With these challenges in mind, here's a rough partisan breakdown:

A 2010 Gallup survey found that 31% of voters identify as Democrats, 29% as Republicans, and 38% as independents. Again, these numbers are subject to change year to year (or even week to week), as events change peoples' minds.

Numbers of self-described independents have been rising the last few years, probably due to the near-record high partisanship and gridlock in Washington and state capitals. The rise in independents has hurt the official membership of both parties, but not their vote totals.

Answer 2

There are approximately 72 million registered Democrats in the United States.