Poll: Conservatives top moderates again

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PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A Gallup poll released Monday indicates 2011 is on pace to be the third year in a row in which conservatives outnumber moderates.

At the midyear point, 2011 is similar to 2009 and 2010, with 41 percent of poll participants identifying themselves as conservative, 36 percent as moderate and 21 as liberal, results indicated.

Liberalism has been steady during last six years, averaging either 21 percent or 22 percent, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

A much higher proportion of Republicans (71 percent) identify themselves as "very conservative" or "conservative" than Democrats (38 percent) who call themselves "very liberal" or "liberal," results indicated. Also, Democrats are just as likely to call themselves moderates as liberals, the poll showed.

Relatively small, equally matched proportions of independents place themselves at the extremes of the political spectrum and 44 percent of independents say they are moderate, Gallup said.

Results are based on data for 10 separate Gallup and USA Today-Gallup polls conducted from January through June. For results based on the total sample of 10,265 adults, the margin of error is 1 percentage point.