Half of Millennials call themselves independent

Half of Millennials do not identify with either major political party, though they tend to vote Democratic, according to a poll released Friday. 

A Pew poll analyzing the group, which it describes as people between the ages of 18 and 33, found that 50 percent identify as political independents — that is up 12 percentage points since 2004. 

{mosads}Thirty percent identify as Democrats, while 17 percent identify as Republican. 

However, asked about their political leanings and voting preference, 50 percent say they lean toward the Democratic Party, while 34 percent lean toward the Republican Party. 

Those numbers are consistent with exit polls from the 2012 election as well. 

Unsurprisingly, Millennials identify as more liberal than other generations on social and political issues. 

Forty-eight percent say their political views have become more liberal over their lifetime, while 57 percent say the same about their social views. 

Millennials give President Obama the highest approval rating of any age group. However, it is still remains underwater at 49 percent. 

The Pew Survey identifies four generations: Millennials, those born after 1980; Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980; The Baby Boom Generation, those born between 1946 and 1964; and The Silent Generation, those born between 1928 and 1945.

The poll surveyed 1,821 adults, including 617 Millennials, and has a 4.6 percentage point margin of error.