Which party has more hate for the other, dems or reps

1. Why the Question Is Tricky: different measures, different answers

Researchers have measured “hate” or partisan animosity in many ways—thermometer ratings, lists of negative traits, feelings of fear or threat, self‑descriptions of frustration—and those choices shape the headline result. Surveys cited show mutual dislike is broad: thermometer means in Pew showed Democrats rating Republicans 31 and Republicans rating Democrats 29 on a 0–100 scale, while other items—such as saying the other party is immoral, unpatriotic, or a threat—produce varying margins ^{[2] [3]}. Academic analyses emphasize that some studies capture negative out‑party affect exceeding in‑party warmth ^[1], whereas other research, like the Annenberg work, argues positive attachments still matter more for some people ^[5]. The methodological diversity explains why different reports give different short answers.

2. What large, recent polls actually show about who is harsher

Pew’s trend work across years finds high mutual hostility but small asymmetries, with some indicators showing Republicans slightly more likely to ascribe extreme negative characteristics to Democrats—higher shares calling the other side immoral, unpatriotic, or a threat—based on analyses through late 2024 and April 2025 ^{[2] [3]}. AP‑NORC data from August 2025, by contrast, identify some measures where Democrats use more intense negative labels for Republicans and report higher self‑criticism within their own ranks, which complicates a simple one‑party‑hates‑more claim ^[4]. These patterns show the answer depends on which questions and when the survey was fielded.

3. Academic studies add context: sectarianism vs. positive partisan identity

University‑based analyses emphasize two competing frames. Northwestern and NYU‑linked work highlight rising “political sectarianism,” where out‑party dislike now outweighs in‑party affection in many polls and poses risks to democratic functioning ^{[1] [6]}. The Annenberg study, however, finds that positive attachments to one’s own party remain salient for many voters and that negative partisanship is not uniformly dominant ^[5]. These academic perspectives indicate that both high antipathy and enduring party loyalty coexist, and differing theoretical lenses influence whether researchers emphasize “hate” or “love” as the primary mobilizer.

4. What the surveys don’t prove: intensity, behavior, and contexts matter

Polling captures expressed attitudes at moments in time but cannot fully translate feelings into real‑world harm or actions without additional behavioral data. Several sources caution that terms like ‘hate’ or ‘threat’ are blunt and that questions about perceived immorality, laziness, or disrespect do not uniformly map onto violence or policy behavior ^{[7] [8]}. Differences in who reports stronger feelings can reflect sample timing, question wording, or momentary events; for instance, partisan reactions spike around scandals, elections, and legislative battles, which means cross‑survey comparisons require care.

5. Bottom line: both sides are deeply hostile; any asymmetry is small and method‑dependent

The best available synthesis from these reports is that both Democrats and Republicans harbor significant antipathy toward the other, and while some large surveys and analyses show modestly higher negative metrics on one side at particular times (Pew tending to show a slight GOP tilt on some items through 2025; AP‑NORC finding pockets of stronger anti‑GOP labeling by Democrats in mid‑2025), no definitive, stable winner emerges across measures ^{[2] [3] [4] [1]}. Claims that one party “hates more” should therefore be framed with the caveat that the effect varies by question, timing, and analytic approach, and that the shared rise in animosity is the most robust finding across studies ^{[1] [6]}.