Gallup: Conservatives Outnumber Liberals More Than 2-to-1

By Brad O'Leary

As if Democrats needed any more bad news leading up to November's midterm elections, conservatism's upward trend is continuing.

According to Gallup, 42% of American adults consider their political ideology to be "conservative," while just 20% consider themselves "liberal," and 35% say they are "moderate."

This represents a 2% gain for conservatives since 2009, and a 5% gain going back to 2008. Liberalism, however, has been trending downward since 2008, dropping from its 18-year high of 22% down to 20%.

Gallup notes that the increase in conservative ranks comes largely from political "independents."