PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The three U.S. states with the most residents identifying as Republican are in the West, while the East leans more Democratic, a Gallup Poll found.
The poll of more than 177,000 U.S. adults between January and June 2012 found Utah, Idaho and Wyoming are the most Republican states in the country; the District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Hawaii rank as the most Democratic-leaning states.
The poll found 44 percent adults in the country identify as or lean Democratic and 40 percent are Republican. The Gallup study cautions the political leanings reported are not an indication of the outcome of November's presidential election because those polled were not necessarily registered voters.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia either lean or are solidly Democratic while 18 lean or are solidly Republican, the poll found.
Those numbers have shifted since 2008, when 36 states either leaned or were solidly Democratic and five leaned or were solidly Republican.
