General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The far right is meeting the far left in Florida, and it's going to be a doozy [View all]genxlib
(5,526 posts)The numbers nationwide vary but show a general trend. Here are the figures for Florida are at this link and they are pretty clear.
https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/data-statistics/voter-registration-statistics/voter-registration-monthly-reports/voter-registration-by-party-affiliation/
Figures below as a percentage of registered voters.
In 1990 - GOP 40.6% DEM 52.2% Unaffiliated 7.2%
In 2018 - GOP 35.3% DEM 37.2% Unaffiliated 26.8%
The intervening period is a pretty steady trend to those figures. Basically the GOP lost 5%, Dems lost 15% and Independents grew by 20%.
The party is growing but it is growing more slowly than the Independents. When the most liberal third of the population chooses a candidate, that candidate will naturally be more liberal than an electorate made up of half of the voters. Or put another way, the moderates in the electorate sit out the primaries.