Republicans Overtook Democrats In 2021 As Share Of Americans Identifying With GOP Shot Up, Poll Finds

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www.forbes.com

Alison Durkee 5 – 6 minutes

Breaking|Jan 17, 2022,12:00pm EST|

Topline

Which political parties Americans identify with shifted wildly over the course of 2021, Gallup polling throughout the year found, as adults became more likely to identify with Republicans than Democrats as the year went on and President Joe Biden’s approval rating fell—a trend that could prove important as the 2022 midterm elections approach. the hair of President Donald Trump during a demonstration against Washington state’s stay-home order in Olympia on April 19, 2020.

Key Facts

In the first quarter of 2021, 49% of U.S. adults identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic versus 40% who sided with Republicans, according to Gallup, which polled 12,416 respondents over the course of the year.

By the fourth quarter of 2021, 47% of respondents identified as Republicans while only 42% said they were Democrats.

Democrats’ advantage over Republicans at the beginning of the year was the biggest they’ve held since the end of 2012, when former President Barack Obama won reelection, according to Gallup, while Republicans’ fourth-quarter lead was their largest lead since 1995.

The biggest shift was among Independents: the share of Democratic-leaning Independents went from 19% to 14% over the course of 2021, while those identifying as Republican-leaning Independents went up from 15% to 19%.

More Americans still identified as Democrats or said they lean Democratic than as Republicans on average in 2021—with 46% versus 43%—though that’s slightly closer than in 2020, when 48% were Democrats and 43% were Republicans.

Most Americans identified as Independents when that was included as an option, however: 42% considered themselves an Independent on average in 2021, versus 29% Democrat and 27% Republican.

Surprising Fact

While more Gallup respondents leaned Democratic than Republican on average in 2021, a larger share of respondents also categorized their views as “conservative” rather than “liberal.” A 37% plurality of Americans said they held “moderate” views in 2021, but 36% said they’re either conservative or “very conservative,” while 24% were liberal or “very liberal.” Those numbers are similar to 2020, when Democrats also had an advantage in party affiliation.

What To Watch For

How Americans’ party affiliations will change in 2022. Gallup notes that surveys conducted in December found Americans ended the year a bit more balanced, with 46% Republican or Republican-leaning versus 44% Democratic.

Key Background

Americans have traditionally leaned more Democratic than Republican since Gallup started surveying party leaning in 1991, the pollster notes, with the exception of 1991, when Republicans held a significant advantage. The two parties also registered “roughly equal levels of support” in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010 and 2011, Gallup reports. Americans’ dramatic shift in their party affiliation over 2021 may have been linked to presidential approval rating, the pollster speculated. GOP President Donald Trump left office in January with a record low approval rating of 34%, according to Gallup, while incoming President Joe Biden had a 57% approval rating as of January 2021. Biden’s approval rating has plunged over the course of the year, however, as issues like the president’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan and the administration’s Covid-19 response resulted in an approximately 43% approval rating as 2021 came to an end, per Gallup. The increasing share of Republicans was also reflected in the 2021 elections, which saw Republicans winning major races like Virginia’s gubernatorial race and a closer-than-expected Democratic win for governor in New Jersey.

What We Don’t Know

How Americans’ partisan leanings will affect the 2022 midterms, which will determine which party controls Congress along with gubernatorial races across the country. Republicans so far hold a narrow advantage on the generic congressional ballot, which broadly asks people whether they’d support the GOP or Democratic candidate. As of January 16, 42.4% of respondents said they’d back Republicans versus 41.8% supporting Democrats, according to an aggregate of polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight.

Further Reading

U.S. Political Party Preferences Shifted Greatly During 2021 (Gallup)

U.S. Political Ideology Steady; Conservatives, Moderates Tie (Gallup)

Many Americans ‘Frustrated’ With Biden After First Year—Approval Numbers Still Better Than Trump’s (Forbes)

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2022/01/17/republicans-overtook-democrats-in-2021-as-share-of-americans-identifying-with-gop-shot-up-poll-finds/?sh=46f176f41b5f

Well the expert just confirmed what we all knew about Harris!

A body language expert examines the hidden cues displayed by Vice President Kamala Harris during a recent interview.@Stinchfield1776. pic.twitter.com/MLsuR1aFHS

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) January 15, 2022

Father of slain UCLA grad student blames politicians for crime spike

www.foxnews.com

Rebecca Rosenberg 4 – 6 minutes

EXCLUSIVE: The shattered father of a UCLA graduate student stabbed to death last week in a random daylight attack in Los Angeles blamed politicians for letting criminals run rampant.

“Crime is truly spiking, and we have a lot of criminals on the streets that shouldn’t be out,” grieving father Todd Kupfer, 60, told Fox News. 

His 24-year-old daughter, Brianna Kupfer, was murdered Thursday by a person who walked into Croft House, an upscale furniture store where she worked, and plunged a knife in her.

Brianna Kupfer, 24, who was stabbed to death Thursday in Los Angeles. (Todd Kupfer)

“We have a lot of politicians that somehow forgot about people and think the key to getting elected is to support the lowest rung of our society and to give them rights and somehow that’s the answer to getting votes,” Kupfer said.

Brianna Kupfer was studying design at UCLA and had been working part-time for about a year as a consultant at Croft House on North La Brea Avenue.

“She was a kind soul and always was trying to make herself better and everything around her better,” said Kupfer, fighting back tears. “She cared about people.”

The slain woman loved to sew and made a lot of her own garments by hand. 

From left to right, Todd and Lori Kupfer and their children Mikaela, Brianna, Tucker and Brandon. Brianna, 24, was stabbed to death in a random attack Jan. 13 in Los Angeles. (Todd Kupfer)

“She liked fun clothes and thought they said something about people’s personalities,” he said. “She wanted to create a clothing line.” 

Brianna Kupfer graduated from the University of Miami before returning to California to pursue a degree at UCLA.

JACQUELINE AVANT DEATH HAS CELEBRITIES, COMMUNITIES IN FEAR OVER BRAZEN HOME INVASIONS

“She was the kind of person we need on this Earth,” her dad said. “She was strong and vivacious.”

Kupfer grew up in the Pacific Palisades – about 3 miles north of Santa Monica –  where she lived with her father, her mother Lori, her little sister Mikaela and her brothers Tucker and Brandon.

Mikaela, 21, is gutted by her sister’s sudden and violent death, the father said. 

The Croft House in Los Angeles. Brianna Kupfer, 24, who worked at the furniture shop, was stabbed to death Thursday by a homeless man, police said. (Google Maps)

“They were best friends,” Kupfer told Fox News. “She is not doing well. She’s completely broken.” 

Todd Kupfer said his daughter was an avid reader who “wasn’t glued to her phone” like many young people. She had traveled extensively – including jaunts to Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Europe – but had more far-flung destinations she couldn’t wait to explore.

She was focused and ambitious and kept a bucket list on her phone, where she mapped out her plans, her dad said.

But those aspirations came to an abrupt and tragic end on Thursday when a man, wearing a dark hoodie, a white N-95 mask, and dark clothing, entered Croft House at about 1:50 p.m., police said.

For no reason, he stabbed her to death then fled out the backdoor into a rear alley, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Surveillance video captured him calmly strolling down the alley toward Oakwood Avenue. 

Brianna Kupfer (LinkedIn)

A customer entered the store 20 minutes later and found Brianna Kupfer dead, lying in a pool of blood, police said. 

Kupfer was alone in the store, which was unusual, her dad said. Usually, there were two employees present during business hours.

LA COUNTY DA GASCON’S PROSECUTORS ASK JUDGE TO BLOCK REFORMS THAT WOULD FORCE THEM TO ‘VIOLATE THE LAW’

Police Monday declined to comment on the progress of the investigation, and Todd Kupfer said he had not received any recent updates from detectives. 

The murder rate in Los Angeles has soared in recent years and violent crime has rocked even the city’s wealthiest enclaves. 

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a Democrat, won over voters last year with promises of sweeping criminal justice reforms that critics say put the interests of criminals before the safety of the community.

“We can’t afford to have the good constantly knocked down by the bad,” Todd Kupfer said.

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“We need to champion [my daughter] as a beacon of what’s wrong and make sure that people recognize that – because it could be their children next, and it’s just an impossible price to pay,” he said.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/father-slain-ucla-grad-student-blames-politicians-crime-spike

‘Fantastic step’ as 10-year ban on donkey slaughter announced – Horse & Hound

www.horseandhound.co.uk

Eleanor Jones 16 January, 2022 20:06 3 – 4 minutes

A 10-year ban has been announced on the donkey skin trade in Tanzania, after fears were raised about the “alarming” decline in the country’s donkey population.

The news has been welcomed as a “strong step in the right direction” by those who have been campaigning against the trade.

H&H has reported on declining donkey populations in a number of countries owing to the demand for eijao, a substance found in the skin that is used in Chinese health and beauty products. Equine charity Brooke is among those calling for a worldwide ban on the trade of donkey skins, and a crackdown on smuggling of the animals across borders.

“This announcement is a fantastic step in the right direction for donkeys and their owners in east Africa,” a Brooke spokesman told H&H.

“We understand that Tanzania has initiated the ban because they are concerned about donkey numbers, which have been rapidly decreasing. Whilst we would like a more permanent ban based on the welfare of donkeys as well as population, we are still very pleased to have this ban in place. We will continue to work with the government to strengthen bans in Tanzania and other countries in Africa.”

There were an estimated 300,000 donkeys in Tanzania, but the number has been dropping rapidly. The country banned donkey slaughter in 2017 but this was overturned in February 2018, allowing slaughterhouses to reopen.

Hundreds of thousands of donkeys are being slaughtered for their skins and exported every year. In many cases, they are stolen from families who depend on them for their livelihood, driven long distances without food or water and killed in “horrific” circumstances.

Brooke has two petitions against the donkey-skin trade; one calling on world leaders to ban it, the other to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) asking for a targeted ban in eastern Africa.

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Credit: The Donkey Sanctuary

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Credit: Brooke

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Getting a second chance

TURTLE RELEASE: Six sea turtles returned to the ocean off the coast of Argentina on Wednesday (1/12). The animals were nursed back to health after they were rescued from fishing nets and some were found to have plastic in their bodies.
——->https://t.co/mvRdOKhdQU pic.twitter.com/HqaZGPwpzR

— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) January 17, 2022