Are there more Republican registered voters than Democrat registered voters in the United States?
Executive summary
Multiple national compilations show that, as of the most recent public tallies, there are more registered Democrats than registered Republicans in the United States, though the gap has narrowed and some survey-based measures of partisan identification put the two parties nearly even (Ballotpedia, USAFacts, Pew) [1] [2] [3].
1. Current tallies: Democratic registration leads in national datasets
State-reported and aggregator counts published in 2024–2025 consistently place Democratic registrants above Republican registrants: USAFacts reports about 44.1 million registered Democrats and 37.4 million registered Republicans as of August 2025 [2], Ballotpedia’s compilation shows Democrats totaling roughly 44.9 million versus about 38.0 million Republicans [1], and other aggregators list Democratic totals in the high 40‑millions compared with Republican totals in the high 30‑millions (WorldPopulationReview) [4] [5].
2. Survey vs. registration: near‑parity in partisan identity complicates the picture
National surveys that measure partisan identity and lean — rather than state registration rolls — find the electorate almost evenly split: Pew’s analysis of registered voters shows 49% are Democrats or lean Democratic and 48% are Republicans or lean Republican, a near‑tie that contrasts with the raw registration totals [3] [6]. This divergence reflects different concepts — official party registration versus self‑identification and “leaners” — and explains why headlines sometimes emphasize parity even when registration counts favor Democrats [3] [6].
3. Trends and caveats: the gap is narrowing and state practices muddy national sums
Multiple reports document that Republicans have gained registration ground in recent years and that Democrats have lost registrants in some places, closing the gap [7]. At the same time, not all states report party registration in the same way — only about 30 states publicly display partisan registration totals in a standardized fashion, and several large states either don’t require or don’t publish party registration consistently — a structural limit on creating a single, perfectly precise nationwide tally (Ballotpedia; reporting on state coverage) [5] [7]. Ballotpedia also notes that while Republicans hit their highest reported raw total in 2025 (~38.0 million), Democrats have remained higher overall across the datasets [5].
4. Where the story varies: state swings, independents, and political narratives
State‑level shifts can flip local narratives — for example, outlets reported Republicans overtaking Democrats in North Carolina registration, a milestone used by partisan actors to claim momentum (Fox News) — but those state changes do not necessarily overturn the national registration advantage Democrats hold across compiled counts [8]. Independents and unaffiliated voters are a significant and growing bloc in many states, and aggregations that include “leaners” (Pew) can shrink the perceived Democratic lead; conversely, raw registration rolls that count formal party labels show Democrats with the larger registered base [3] [4] [1].
5. Bottom line and limits of the public record
Based on the available public compilations and state‑reported figures, Democrats currently outnumber Republicans in registered voters nationwide by several million, though the advantage is smaller than in previous years and subject to variation by dataset and definition [2] [1] [4]. Reporting limits — uneven state disclosure of party registration, differences between registration and self‑identification surveys, and timing of updates — mean any single number is provisional; the most defensible conclusion from the cited sources is that Democrats maintain a national registration lead while Republicans have closed the gap and may hold advantages in particular states [5] [7] [3].