These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
In August, 35.0% of American Adults identified themselves as Democrats. That's down nearly half a percentage point from a month ago and is the smallest percentage of Democrats ever recorded in nearly eight years of monthly tracking.
At the same time, the number of Republicans grew in August to 33.8%. That's up two full percentage points from the month before and the largest number of Republicans recorded in 2010.
As has been the case in every month over the past eight years of tracking, there are more Democrats than Republicans in the nation. The gap is currently 1.2 percentage points. That's the closest the Republicans have been to parity in more than five years, since July 2005.
It's also the smallest gap between the parties heading into any of the recent campaign seasons. In August 2004, the Democrats had a 2.6 percentage point advantage. In August 2006, they enjoyed a 5.4 percentage point advantage. In August 2008, the gap was 5.7 percentage points. See the History of Party Trends from January 2004 to the present.
The biggest advantage ever measured for Democrats was 10.1 percentage points in May 2008. In December 2008, the final full month of the Bush administration, the Democrats held an 8.8-percentage-point advantage.
Since December 2008, the number of Republicans has grown by a single percentage point. However, the number of Democrats has fallen by nearly seven points.
The number not affiliated with either major party is now at 31.1%. That's the lowest level measured in 2010.
Rasmussen Reports tracks this information based on telephone interviews with approximately 15,000 adults per month and has been doing so since November 2002. The margin of error for the full sample is less than one percentage point, with a 95% level of confidence.
Between November 2004 and 2006, the Democratic advantage in partisan identification grew by 4.5 percentage points. That foreshadowed the Democrats' big gains in the 2006 midterm elections. The gap grew by another 1.5 percentage points between November 2006 and November 2008 leading up to Obama's election.
The number of Democrats peaked at 41.7% in May 2008, and it was nearly as high at 41.6% in December 2008. The number of Democrats fell below the 40% mark in March 2009 and first fell below 36% in December of that year. Rasmussen Reports has been tracking this data monthly since November 2002. Prior to this month's data, the lowest level of identification with the Democrats has been 35.1%. It was reached twice, in February and May of this year.
For Republicans, the peak was way back in September 2004 at 37.3%, For nearly five years, since late 2005, the number of Republicans has generally stayed between 31% and 34% of the nation's adults.
Keep in mind that figures reported in this article are for all adults, not likely voters. Republicans are a bit more likely to participate in elections than Democrats.
The president's approval rating has held fairly steady throughout 2010 as reflected in our month-by-month review. The Republican advantage on the Generic Congressional Ballot also has held steady. Republicans are also trusted more than Democrats on most key issues .
The Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power summary shows Republicans are likely to gain seats in the U.S. Senate this November. The same is true in our summary of Governor's races .
Data from our monthly partisan identification survey is used to set weighting targets for other Rasmussen Reports surveys. The targets are based on results from the previous three months.