With the 2026 midterm elections a year away, neither the Republican nor Democratic Party is widely seen as having good ideas. And both are viewed by majorities as too extreme and not governing honestly and ethically.

39% of Americans describe the Republican Party as governing ethically and honestly – and about the same share (42%) say this about the Democratic Party. Majorities continue to view both parties as too extreme in their positions – though more apply this to the GOP (61%) than the Democratic Party (57%).

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how Americans feel about the Republican and Democratic parties. This analysis seeks to examine the public’s feelings about the behavior of party leaders, party issues and how well each of the major parties represent Americans.

For this analysis, we surveyed 3,445 U.S. adults from Sept. 22 to 28, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, presidential vote (among voters) and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

Here are the questions used for this report, the topline and the survey methodology.