Independents Now View Republicans as the 'Elitist' Party, Poll Finds

For decades, the Republican Party cultivated an identity as the voice of ordinary Americans against entrenched power — a populist promise that drew independent voters away from the establishment and toward its banner. Something has quietly reversed. Independent voters, the margin-makers of American elections, now describe Republicans as the elitist party, a perception shift that carries the weight of a realignment still in motion. Whether this is a temporary disillusionment or a durable reordering of political identity may well determine who governs in the years ahead.