There Are More Liberals Than Ever: Poll

More Americans are calling themselves liberal today than at any point since Gallup started measuring in 1992, according to a new Gallup analysis—though conservatives still far outnumber them. The ranks of self-identified liberals swelled to 23% in 2013, according to the analysis, which collected data from 13 polls spanning more than 18,000 people. That leaves liberals 15 points behind conservatives (38%), tying the narrowest margin ever.

Those new liberals appeared to come at the expense of moderates, who declined to 34%—their lowest point ever, down 9 points from Gallup's first analysis in 1992. Liberals have always been at the bottom of the totem pole. Why the recent gains? It could simply be that the term "liberal" is now more acceptable, the pollsters write, or it could indicate that the Democratic Party "is increasingly dominated by those from the left," as the Republican party is by the right. (More poll numbers stories.)