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ALL YEARS EXC. 2000 TELEPHONE,2002: We hear a lot of talk these days about liberals and conservatives. Here is (1972,1974: I’m going to show you) a 7-point scale on which the political views that people might hold are arranged from extremely liberal to extremely conservative. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven’t you thought much about this? (7-POINT SCALE SHOWN TO R) 2000 TELEPHONE: When it comes to politics, do you usually think of yourself as extremely liberal, liberal, slightly liberal, moderate or middle of the road, slightly conservative, extremely conservative, or haven’t you thought much about this? 2002: We hear a lot of talk these days about liberals and conservatives. When it comes to politics, do you usually think of yourself as extremely liberal, liberal, slightly liberal, moderate or middle of the road, slightly conservative, extremely conservative, or haven’t you thought much about this?
Liberal-conservative self-placement, collapsed · Asked in 21 waves, 1972–2020 · 48,946 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Codes that include 'no Pre/Post IW' were dropped for respondents without that interview. Dropped only in years where the codebook names a design split (alternate form, half sample, abbreviated or web instrument): 0 in 1972. NA code treated as not asked where it exceeds 10% of a year's answers (an unlabeled split or filter): 0 in 2000, 2016, 2020. Kept and flagged: 0 (no_answer), 9 (dk). Codebook notes: See also: VCF0801, VCF0824 AND VCF0849. GENERAL NOTE: This collapses VCF0803: 1-3=1, 4=2, 5-7=3.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | Liberal | Moderate, middle of the road | Conservative | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 2020 Time Series Study | 2020-08-18 to 2021-01-04 | mixed | 8,280 | 7,056 |
| ANES 2016 Time Series Study | 2016-09-07 to 2017-01-09 | mixed | 4,270 | 3,049 |
| ANES 2012 Time Series Study | 2012-09-09 to 2013-01-13 | mixed | 5,914 | 5,912 |
| ANES 2008 Time Series Study | 2008-09-02 to 2008-12-30 | face to face | 2,322 | 2,322 |
| ANES 2004 Time Series Study | 2004-09-07 to 2004-12-19 | face to face | 1,212 | 1,212 |
| ANES 2002 Time Series Study | 2002-09-18 to 2002-12-06 | phone | 1,511 | 1,508 |
| ANES 2000 Time Series Study | 2000-09-05 to 2000-12-22 | mixed | 1,807 | 866 |
| ANES 1998 Time Series Study | 1998-11-04 to 1998-12-23 | mixed | 1,281 | 1,281 |
| ANES 1996 Time Series Study | 1996-09-03 to 1997-01-02 | mixed | 1,714 | 1,714 |
| ANES 1994 Time Series Study |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| 33% |
| 27% |
| 40% |
| 7056 |
| ±2 |
| White | 31% | 23% | 46% | 5296 | ±2 |
| Black | 39% | 42% | 19% | 482 | ±6 |
| Hispanic | 34% | 36% | 30% | 591 | ±5 |
| Asian | 43% | 33% | 24% | 242 | ±9 |
| Other | 38% | 32% | 30% | 378 | ±7 |
ANES 2020 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ (face-to-face samples: contiguous 48 states and DC; web samples: 50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.
| 1994-11-09 to 1995-01-08 |
| mixed |
| 1,795 |
| 1,795 |
| ANES 1992 Time Series Study | 1992-09-02 to 1993-01-16 | mixed | 2,485 | 2,485 |
| ANES 1990 Time Series Study | 1990-11-06 to 1991-01-21 | face to face | 1,980 | 1,980 |
| ANES 1988 Time Series Study | 1988-09-06 to 1989-01-23 | face to face | 2,040 | 2,039 |
| ANES 1986 Time Series Study | 1986-11-05 to 1987-02-07 | face to face | 2,176 | 2,176 |
| ANES 1984 Time Series Study | 1984-09-04 to 1985-01-24 | mixed | 2,257 | 2,247 |
| ANES 1982 Time Series Study | 1982-11-02 to 1983-01-31 | face to face | 1,418 | 1,418 |
| ANES 1980 Time Series Study | 1980-09-02 to 1981-02-07 | face to face | 1,614 | 1,611 |
| ANES 1978 Time Series Study | 1978-11-08 to 1979-01-25 | face to face | 2,304 | 2,304 |
| ANES 1976 Time Series Study | 1976-09-07 to 1977-01-30 | face to face | 2,248 | 2,241 |
| ANES 1974 Time Series Study | 1974-11-06 to 1975-01-31 | face to face | 1,575 | 1,575 |
| ANES 1972 Time Series Study | 1972-09-01 to 1973-02-13 | face to face | 2,705 | 2,155 |