The Republican Party is more unpopular than it's been in 20 years
REUTERS/Jim Young
The party is now the most unpopular it's been since 1992, with 62% of those surveyed saying they have an unfavorable view of the GOP. That represented a decrease from October, when 58% of respondents had an unfavorable view of the party.
Pew Research reported that the decline in favorability since the fall "has largely come among Republicans themselves: In the current survey, 68% of Republicans view their party positively, down from 79% last fall." It comes amid the rise of Donald Trump, who looks more and more to be the party's standard bearer in the 2016 election.
The Democratic Party hasn't seen the same decline in popularity. Its favorability ratings haven't changed since the fall. And fewer people have a negative opinion of Democrats - 45% of those surveyed had a favorable impression of the party, and 50% had an unfavorable impression.
Democrats are also happier with their own party than Republicans, with 88% saying they view their party positively, compared to 68% of Republicans for the GOP.
These poll numbers come amid reports of an increasingly fractured GOP. Some pundits have blamed the party's problems on the controversial candidacy of Trump, who shocked establishment politicians by becoming the Republican frontrunner for the 2016 presidential race.
Though many voters have rallied behind Trump and his message, others within the party have taken issue with his unorthodox views and said he doesn't represent the Republican Party as a whole.
The chart below shows the trend in favorability ratings for each party:
Pew Research Center
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