A growing share of Americans say there are important differences between the Republican and Democratic parties, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll. The May survey, released on Sunday, shows 81 percent of respondents say there are important differences between the two parties, while only 18 percent say the parties are “pretty much the same.”

The 63-point gap in responses marks a noted increase from the 44-point gap in late 2023, when 72 percent of respondents said there were important differences between the parties, and 28 percent said the parties were pretty much the same. More Americans had been describing the parties as meaningfully different over the preceding decade, but the trend was not as stark as it was over the last year and a half. In a September 2014 survey, there was a 29-point

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