Gallup: More Now Identify as Republicans Than as Democrats

The midterm election wave that swept Republicans to a majority in both the Senate and House also shifted Americans' political allegiance toward the GOP, a new poll shows.

According to a Gallup survey, 43 percent of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party before the Nov. 4 elections, while 39 percent identified as or leaned Republican.

But a day after the election, Republicans had wedged open a slight advantage, 42 percent to 41 percent, representing a net shift of 5 percentage points in the partisanship gap, Gallup reports.

"Americans are also now more likely to align themselves politically with the Republican Party than the Democratic Party," the poll analysis noted.

"The 2014 midterms were an unqualified success for the Republican Party, and that success has caused Americans to view the Republican Party more favorably than the Democratic Party, as well as to say congressional Republicans should have more influence than President Barack Obama over the direction the nation takes in the next year."

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