The news: Nearly two-thirds of 2,238 US brands analyzed have a partisan lean, per a new YouGov report. The analysis measured differences between Republicans and Democrats in their willingness to consider a brand the next time they're in the market to make a purchase.

The findings highlight how closely consumers' political identities can align with their brand preferences. For example, 23% of Democrats would consider buying a Subaru, compared with just 13% of Republicans. Similar divides exist across categories:

• Apparel: 27% of Republicans would consider Wrangler jeans, compared with 18% of Democrats.
• Coffee: 14% of Republicans would consider Black Rifle Coffee, compared with 4% of Democrats.
• Ice cream: 44% of Democrats would consider Ben & Jerry's, compared with 22% of Republicans.
• Grocery stores: 23% of Democrats would consider Trader Joe’s, compared with 13% of Republicans.

Why this matters: Brands don’t have to take a stand to end up with a partisan lean. Partisanship has seeped into much of American life over the past few years, shaping where people live, what they drive, and where they shop. Subaru, Trader Joe’s, and Wrangler aren’t known for political activism, yet each skews toward one party, likely reflecting differences in geography and lifestyle rather than explicit political stances.

For most brands, then, the real question is whether to add to that lean. Consumers’ appetite for brand activism is cooling as 53% of US adults say they don’t want businesses taking public stances, up 4 percentage points from last year, per Gallup. But that’s a narrow majority, which helps explain why some brands, including Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, and Black Rifle Coffee, have made political or social positions central to their identities.

However, once a brand takes a position, reversing it carries risks, including alienating shoppers across the political aisle. Target learned that lesson when it faced falling traffic and sales after rolling back its DEI policies, though other factors also weighed on its results.

Tesla’s Cybertruck shows how a polarizing executive can complicate a product’s appeal. Tesla plans to wind down Cybertruck production at its Texas factory around mid-2027, signalling the end of the line for the unconventional truck, per CNBC. CEO Elon Musk once predicted the truck would sell 250,000 units a year. Instead, it sold an estimated 11,586 units through the first three quarters of 2026, just 1.6% of the US EV market, per Cox Automotive. That puts it on pace for about 15,000 units this year, roughly 6% of Musk’s target, according to our calculations.

The truck’s high price, quality issues, and production problems explain much of that shortfall. But Musk’s political profile may have narrowed its appeal further. A majority of Americans view him unfavorably, per Silver Bulletin, after his role in the Department of Government Efficiency and his nearly $500 million in spending to support Republicans during the midterm elections.

Implications for marketers: How consumers perceive a brand is only partly up to the brand. But what brands can control is whether their actions add to partisan divides. A record 45% of US adults identified as political independents in 2025, per Gallup, so a brand closely tied to one side risks alienating not just the other party’s supporters but a growing share of Americans who claim neither.

The exception is brands whose positions are part of what customers are buying, like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Black Rifle Coffee. For them, a committed base can be a plus, and a partisan lean doesn’t necessarily mean narrow reach: 22% of Republicans would still consider Ben & Jerry’s.

For other brands, a safer course is to stay in the middle, starting with a clear read on how consumers see the brand. If a partisan lean shows up, trace whether it reflects where customers live or the brand’s own actions, and don’t deepen it without a clear business reason.

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