Poll: Republicans want more conservative candidates

Asked whether each party had become more ideologically exteme in recent years, the broader public tend to think that Democrats, not Republicans, have moved further away from the center ground. 42% of Americans, including 21% of Democrats, think that the Democratic Party has become more liberal in the past few years. 33% say it has remained the same while only 7% think it has become less liberal.

When it comes to the Republican Party, Americans are effectively split as to whether they have become more conservative (30%) or remained the same (28%) in recent years, while 19% think that Republicans have become less conservative. Republicans tend to think that the party has remained the same (46%) in recent years, but a third (32%) do think that the party has become less conservative in recent years.