For many people, attachment to a party isn't primarily a matter agreement on specific issues, but a general sense that it's concerned with people like you or that you care about. From time to time, Gallup has asked "which political party--the Republican or Democratic--do you think serves the interests of the following groups the best." The most recent was in August 2024, when they asked about wealthy people, business and professional people, military veterans, small business people, retired people, recent immigrants who came to the US legally/recent immigrants who came to the US illegally [random half samples], parents of children under 18, black people, poor people, Hispanic people, women, labor union members and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. The figure shows breaks opinions down by party. The horizonal axis shows the percent of Republicans who think that the Republican party best serves the interests of each group: for example, 57% of Republicans think that the Republicans are best for union members. The vertical axis gives the percent of Democrats who think that the Democratic party best serves the group: for example, 88% of Democrats think that the Democrats are best for union members.*
Over 90% of Democrats think that their party is best for LGBT people, women, legal immigrants, Hispanics, retired people, parents, black people, and poor people. 80-90% think that their party is best for small business, veterans, illegal immigrants, and union members. Then there are two groups that trail: business and professionals at 56% and wealthy people at 9%. Among Republicans, only 19% say that their party is best for LGBT people and illegal immigrants; majorities think that the Republicans are best for all other groups, although they're generally not as strong as the majorities among Democrats.
Eight of these groups were also included in a survey in 1990. The next two figures show changes in Democratic and Republican perceptions between 1990 and 2024:
The diagonal lines indicate equal values in 1990 and 2024. Points above the line mean that a higher percentage of partisans saw their party as better for the group in 2024 than in 1990. For both Democrats and Republicans, seven of the eight are above the line. This could be interpreted as a general increase in polarization: strong partisans are more likely to see their party as better for (almost) everyone. Another potential factor is feelings about the groups: partisans will want to claim groups that they like and connect the other party to groups that they dislike. For both Democrats and Republicans, wealthy people are the one exception to the general pattern: I would interpret this as an example of a
general rise of anti-elitist sentiment: members of both parties are more reluctant to be associated with serving the interests of wealthy people. A few other cases are notable for large increases between 1990 and 2024: Republicans became considerably more likely to say that their party was best for black people (33% to 76%) and poor people (39% to 76%). Again, I would say that this reflects a change in the way that Republicans like to think of themselves.
*People who say that the parties are equal or who don't know are counted with those who say the other party is better.
