Looking at last week’s midterm elections, you might come away thinking our country is split nearly 50-50, Democrats and Republicans.

Looking at the results in so many races showing somewhere between a 48% to 52% edge either way, I can see where we might think we are indeed split close to 50-50.

So just how evenly or unevenly are we divided?

I wanted to know. Well, I found Gallup has been polling Americans monthly since 2004, asking them a simple question; “In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat or an independent?” The results, although very consistent, may surprise you. It did me, given the great divide in politics these days.

In January 2004, when the monthly poll began, people answered with 32% identifying as Republicans, 34% as Democrats, and 33% as independents. Definitely not 50-50, but clearly one-third, one-third, one-third.

And so it went, staying very close to those numbers month after month for the next six years.

Then something changed in 2010, when more people began identifying as independents than either Republicans or Democrats. It was in November 2010 when the independents reached 40% for the first time, with 29% each for Democrats and Republicans.

With only slight variations in those numbers, they have been that way for the last 12 years, bringing us to the year 2022, when, in September, just two months ago, Americans answered that question, 30% Republicans, 24% Democrats, and 43% independents.

Now, on the surface, I, being one of those independents, would think that is great, and that, maybe, just maybe, we are on a path of decreasing extreme partisanship in both the two major parties.

So, now that we know there are more people who identify as independents, how many independents are in the 535-member U.S. House of Representatives?

You guessed it. Zero.

How many independents are in the 100-member U.S. Senate? Well, there are two.

The “elephant-in-the-room” question is, obviously, why are there not many more independents in Washington?

Upon further investigation, I find that, of that 43% who are independents, many, if not all, lean one way or the other. Lean left or right.

Gallup went that extra step and began asking that question to just the independents: “As of today, do you lean more to the Democratic Party or to the Republican Party?” And you may have already guessed again, the results, as of September 2022, were fairly predictable, with 48% leaning Republican, 44% leaning Democrat.

So there we have it.

Yes, we are a nearly 50-50 split country.

So what do I gather from all those numbers?

I get some encouragement knowing that those people, the 43% of Americans identifying as independents, are clearly not getting enough from either party to make them comfortable enough to call themselves a Republican or a Democrat.

And that the number of independents is growing.

If there was any real intelligence in Washington, you would think the partisan zealots and party leaders would recognize that fact, that continuing down the path of division is not what Americans want.

We want a government that works together for all of us, not just one side or the other. We want major issues discussed and debated, and we want action, regardless of party.

I want long-range plans in place to address our catastrophic $31 trillion debt, our immigration policy, the financial future of Medicare and Social Security, a sensible plan on energy, the lack of American workers, the future of manufacturing in the U.S., a workable solution on abortion, poverty, and this dang transportation gridlock. I want a military solely focused on defending our nation, and, most of all, a new generation of leaders that will give us a plan and a vision for unity and opportunity.

From my perspective, none of that is likely to happen if we continue down the road of divisive politics.

Finally, I thought I would look a little closer to home and wondered what the divide in Michigan was. It was similar to that of the nation, although slightly more for the Democrats. It was 23% identifying as Republican, 37% as Democrats, and 40% as independent.

Our math lesson for today has concluded, and you can take from it what you want.

But what I am still interested in is what you think. Do you think the current political divide is healthy for us, or a hindrance for us?

Feel free to share your thoughts with me at gregawtry@awtry.com.

Greg Awtry is the former publisher of the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Star-Herald and Nebraska’s York News-Times. He is now retired and living in Hubbard Lake. Greg can be contacted at gregawtry@awtry.com.