Americans aren't inclined to identify themselves as Republicans these days, a new Gallup poll suggests.
Researchers found that just 25 percent of Americans interviewed affiliated themselves with the political party. This record low figure is, in fact, the lowest number of people to do so since the company began conducting the poll 25 years ago.
The study also indicated that affiliation with the Independent party was soaring, according to a report from CBS' local station in Washington.
42 percent of the 18,871 Americans polled said they considered themselves a part of the Independent party, while 31 percent said they were Democratic.
According to the study, the number of people who identify as Democrats hasn't fluctuated significantly in the past four years.
"Republican identification peaked at 34 percent in 2004, the year George W. Bush won a second term in office," a press release publicized alongside the poll read. "Since then, it has fallen nine percentage points, with most of that decline coming during Bush's troubled second term."
Researchers noted that the end of 2013 marked a significant spike in Independent affiliation, which showed a move away from traditional political participation.
"Americans are increasingly declaring independence from the political parties," authors of the study wrote. "The rise in political independence is likely an outgrowth of Americans' record or near-record negative views of the two major U.S. parties, of Congress, and their low level of trust in government more generally."
Key events of 2013 such as the government shutdown, introduction of universal healthcare, National Security Administration revelations and more are thought to be related to the public's decline of trust in the government.
