Libertarian numbers small but they have clout
The Public Religion Research Institute’s annual American Values Survey, released October 29, examines libertarians to try to “pin down a group that doesn’t fit on the traditional liberal-to-conservative spectrum,” said Robert Jones, CEO of PRRI.
“We were not sure we could find a coherent group that could say they oppose making abortion more difficult and at the same time oppose raising the minimum wage. But we did.”
Libertarians are just 7 percent of U.S. adults, but an additional 15 percent of Americans lean toward libertarian views—socially liberal, economically conservative. Seventeen percent of Americans said they lean toward the Tea Party. Most Americans (54 percent) hold a mixture of views, PRRI found.
