Radicalized Center Emerging in American Politics

The electorate profoundly dissatisfied with the political status quo—so dissatisfied, in fact, that it seems more open than it has been in two decades to somebody challenging the current system. That challenge could take the form of a third party or independent political force; more likely, it could take the form of an insurgent figure from within the major political parties who can galvanize what increasingly appears to be a radicalized center in the country.

This radicalized center appears economically disaffected, vaguely populist and not especially ideological. It feels increasingly detached from both parties. It isn’t necessarily expecting some political savior but appears primed to latch onto one, should he or she appear.

electorate profoundly dissatisfied with the political status quo—so dissatisfied, in fact, that it seems more open than it has been in two decades to somebody challenging the current system. That challenge could take the form of a third party or independent political force; more likely, it could take the form of an insurgent figure from within the major political parties who can galvanize what increasingly appears to be a radicalized center in the country.

This radicalized center appears economically disaffected, vaguely populist and not especially ideological. It feels increasingly detached from both parties. It isn’t necessarily expecting some political savior but appears primed to latch onto one, should he or she appear.

Beyond those races, the national backdrop shows profound and growing disillusionment with the political status quo. Polling by The Wall Street Journal and NBC News over the past month revealed what Republican Bill McInturff, co-director of the Journal/NBC News survey, calls a “public opinion shockwave” taking shape.

Fewer than half of those surveyed identified themselves as either a Republican or a Democrat. President Barack Obama is getting the lowest job-approval rating of his presidency, but he’s hardly alone. Republicans and the tea-party movement both are getting their lowest positive ratings in the history of the poll. The leaders of Congress—Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid, and Republican House Speaker John Boehner —all received their highest negative ratings ever.

Perhaps most telling, when Americans were asked whether they would prefer to vote for a Democrat, a Republican or an independent or third-party candidate for Congress from their own district, 30% said they’d pick the independent or third-party candidate.

Who are these politically disaffected folks? They range across the spectrum, but disillusionment appears particularly acute among white males, particularly younger white males without a college degree. A surprising number reside in the Northeast. A fair share consider themselves Republicans, but don’t strongly identify that way.

The unifying characteristic, in many cases, is pessimism about the economy and their own place in it. That’s where the populist streak comes in. The disaffected appear to believe that both the economic and political systems have tuned them out.

The profile of the disaffected doesn’t seem an especially good match for Democrats Mrs. Clinton or Vice President Joe Biden, who have long establishment histories. Conservative upstart Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, appears too ideologically driven to satisfy those in search of a pragmatic problem-solver.

The profile that may best match this mood would be of a pragmatic governor solving problems far from Washington. That sounds like Gov. Christie—who, not by coincidence, was viewed positively by twice as many people as those who viewed him negatively in the latest Journal/NBC News survey.

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