More Americans identified as Democrats than Republicans in 2012, according to a new Gallup estimate. This re-establishes a lead Democrats held in the U.S. until 2010 and 2011, when the two major parties were tied.

Forty-seven percent of Americans self-identified as Democrats or independents who leaned Democratic last year, and 42 percent of Americans identified as or leaned Republican, according to surveys of adults conducted by Gallup/USA Today throughout 2012.

Since Gallup began surveying party identification in 1991, Democrats typically held an advantage, with a 12-point high over Republicans in 2008. The parties were last essentially tied in 2010 and 2011.

The margin of error for the 2012 polls was plus or minus 1 percentage point.