Fox News contributor Karl Rove discusses the rise of registered independents in America on 'America Reports.'

Here's what we're not saying out loud: independent voters aren't independent at all. They're just angry.

Forty-five percent of Americans now identify as political independents. That's a record. It beat the 43% we saw in 2023. But here's the thing — these people aren't sitting in some enlightened middle ground. They're out of the fray because both parties have let them down so badly that rejecting the label feels like the only honest option left.

This isn't about ideology. This is rage dressed up as a polling category.

And it's remaking American politics in real time.

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Nearly half of all voters are independents, and they agree on one thing — the status quo isn't working. (Paul Richards/AFP via Getty Images)

Look at the actual numbers: Democrats and Republicans both poll in the low 30s for approval. Both of them. That's not a fight — that's two teams losing to an empty field.

Seventy-three percent of Americans say they're dissatisfied with the political system itself. That's not frustration. That's people withdrawing consent. That's a legitimacy crisis.

Here's what matters: these voters don't hate politics. They hate how politics is actually done right now. They're not looking for someone to manage the system better. They're looking for someone to blow it all up and build something radically different.

RECORD NUMBER OF AMERICANS IDENTIFY AS POLITICAL INDEPENDENTS, REJECTING 2 MAJOR PARTIES, POLL FINDS

Everybody keeps saying independents are swing voters. Moderates. The tie-breaker in elections.

Wrong.

Most independents hold strong views. They're not middle-of-the-road people. They’re people. They're people who gave up on their party because that party gave up on them.

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Democrats who couldn't stomach the Democratic Party anymore. Republicans tired of what the Republican Party became.

Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

They're not available to be persuaded on incrementalism. They're available........

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