PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The percentage of U.S. voters identifying themselves as Republicans has increased while voters saying they were Democrats fell, a Gallup poll indicates.
The percentage of voters identifying themselves as Republicans increased from 26 percent immediately before the party's convention to 30 percent after it ended, Gallup poll results released Thursday indicated.
The increase, combined with a 2-percentage point loss in Democratic identification, cut into the Democrats' advantage in national party identification from 11points to 5, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.
The results are based on the Friday-Sunday USA Today/Gallup poll, but Gallup pollsters said they noted similar trends in its daily tracking survey.
Short-term shifts in party affiliation are a regular occurrence after a party's convention, Gallup said. Since measuring the percentage of Americans who identify with a party after its convention since 1992, Gallup said the change averaged 4 percentage points.
Results are based on telephone interviews conducted Friday-Sunday with 1,022 national adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
