More than twice as many say label does not describe them as say it does

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup polling reveals widespread public uncertainty about the "progressive" political label -- a label recently embraced by no less than Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. While Kagan described her political views as "generally progressive" during her Senate confirmation hearings, fewer than half of Americans can say whether "progressive" does (12%) or does not (31%) describe their own views. The majority (54%) are unsure.

This measure of the progressive label was included in a June 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, which also assessed Americans' political ideology using Gallup's standard liberal-moderate-conservative scale.

Large segments of all three ideological groups are unsure what "progressive" means, though liberals are more likely to embrace than reject the label (26% vs. 17%), while conservatives are more likely to reject than embrace it (48% vs. 7%). Democrats are evenly divided on whether the term applies to their views, while Republicans overwhelmingly reject it.

Today's findings are consistent with those from a Gallup Panel poll conducted four years ago in which Americans rated their familiarity with "progressive" and five other political terms. At that time, 22% said they were very familiar with the progressive label and another 37% were somewhat familiar, while 40% were not too or not at all familiar -- much higher than the levels not familiar with "conservative" (8%) and "liberal" (10%).

Progressives Have a Diverse Political Profile

Close to half of Americans (45%) who identify with the progressive label separately describe their political views as either very liberal or liberal. At the same time, a third of progressives call themselves moderate and nearly a quarter, conservative -- indicating that Americans' definitions of the term may vary widely or perhaps that Americans lack clarity about its current meaning in U.S. politics.

Notably, the 22% of progressives calling themselves "very liberal" is much higher than the 7% of all Americans who do so.

Bottom Line

The progressive label seems to be gaining popularity in American politics, with numerous high-profile political players and groups using it either as a substitute for "liberal" or as a nuanced alternative to it. Given the high degree of public uncertainty about what the term means -- as well as the lack of opposition to it from the political center -- that could be a successful strategy, at least if the goal is to avoid being pigeonholed.