The Republican Party controls both houses of Congress, and because of that, many in that party think the American public favors the Republicans more than the Democrats. They think if they just run farther to the right they can win the White House in 2016. They are wrong. They control Congress because of some very effective gerrymandering they were able to do in 2010, and while they will probably use that to keep their House majority in 2016, the chances are good that they will lose the Senate.
Why? Because this is NOT a right-wing nation. This is a nation of moderates, with minorities on the left and right. And the further the Republicans move to the right, the more most Americans get scared -- and move toward the Democrats (who they perceive as the more moderate party). And currently there is a 9 point lean toward the Democrats among the public (whether you just consider party ID or include those who lean toward either party). And this makes it very unlikely that the GOP can win a national election for president in 2016.
That's what a new survey by the Pew Research Center shows. These numbers are a compilation of 12 surveys done during 2014 of a random national sample of 25,010 adults. Because of the huge sample, the survey has a margin of error of only 0.7 points.
The charts below show the demographic breakdown of political party preference in the United States.
