PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Sixty percent of Americans say a third party is needed because Democrats or Republicans aren't doing an adequate job, a Gallup poll released Friday indicated.
The poll was conducted while a federal shutdown that began Oct. 1 drags on.
Fifty-two percent of Republicans and 49 percent of Democrats said a third party is needed, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said, noting it was the first time a majority of either party's supporters expressed the need for a third party. Seventy-one percent of independents expressed this view.
Twenty-six percent of respondents said they thought Democrats and Republicans adequately represented Americans.
Gallup said prior highs in the perceived need for a third party were in August 2010, shortly before the midterm elections, and in 2007, when the newly elected Democratic congressional majority clashed with President George W. Bush.
Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,028 adults conducted Oct. 3-6. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
