Republicans - even moderate Republicans - think that the Republican party is a better choice to lead the country than the Democratic party.

But why is this? The U.S. economy has performed better on average under the administration of Democrat presidents. The Republican party has become an embarrassment (the party of crime and chaos). The culture wars are not winning votes.

About half of voters identify as independent. They may lean Republican or lean Democrat, but do not want to be associated with those parties. I think most people have better things to do. They just want to be independent from the government, and sometimes vote Republican thinking Republicans favor less intrusive government.

Democrats have demonstrated that government can be effective when it is well-managed, but half of the country is skeptical. Various crisis have shown the need for an effective Federal government, and yet half of the country remains skeptical. The political compromise needed is becoming more difficult to achieve.

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U.S. economic performance under Democratic and Republican presidents
"Since World War II, the United States economy has performed worse on average under the administration of Republican presidents than Democrat presidents. The reasons for this are debated, and the observation applies to economic variables including job creation, GDP growth, stock market returns, personal income growth and corporate profits. The unemployment rate has fallen on average under democratic presidents, while it has risen on average under republican presidents. Budget deficits relative to the size of the economy were lower on average for democratic presidents.[1][2] Ten of the eleven U.S. recessions between 1953 and 2020 began under Republican presidents. [3]

Of these, the most statistically significant differences are in real GDP growth, unemployment rate change, stock market annual return, and job creation rate (see #Statistics).

             Variable               Democrats  Republicans  Difference  P-value
          Real GDP growth             4.33%       2.54%       1.79 pp     0.01
        Job creation rate %           2.59%       1.17%       1.42 pp     0.02
        Unemployment rate %           5.64%       6.01%       0.38 pp     0.62
     Unemployment rate change       -0.83 pp     +1.09 pp     1.92 pp     0.01
  Inflation rate (GDP deflator)       2.89%       3.44%       0.55 pp     0.59
  Budget deficit % potential GDP      2.09%       2.78%       0.69 pp     0.3
Stock market S&P 500 annual return    8.35%       2.70%       5.65 pp     0.15

"
Wikipedia: U.S. economic performance by presidential party

Broad Support for Political Compromise in Washington, January 22, 2007
"Fully three-quarters say they like political leaders who are willing to compromise, compared with 21% who see this as a negative trait."
pewresearch.org - Broad support for political compromise in washington

Why Compromise Is A Bad Word In Politics, March 13, 2012
"Why do voters want leaders who are adaptable, but detest those who don't stick to their guns? Social science research indicates voters want compromise but only when the other side is caving in."
npr.org - Why compromise is terrible politics

Americans Favor Compromise to Get Things Done in Washington, October 9, 2017
"Fifty-four percent of Americans want political leaders in Washington to compromise to get things done."
news.gallup.com - Americans favor compromise things done washington

American democracy is cracking. These forces help explain why, August 18, 2023
"In a country where the search for common ground is increasingly elusive, many Americans can agree on this: They believe the political system is broken and that it fails to represent them."
washingtonpost.com - American democracy political system failures