With Election Day three days away, single voters may want to think twice before leading with their party registration on a first date. A national survey released this fall found that political labels have become more likely to rule someone out as a partner, especially among Gen Z.
Compared with 2015, more singles now cite being a Republican, Democrat or independent as a reason they would rule out a potential partner, and those views have grown substantially stronger “within the last year or so,” according to the Kinsey Institute’s summary of the 15th annual Singles in America study. The survey of about 5,000 single U.S. adults was conducted online in March and April 2026 and funded by Match.
The finding cuts against a broader trend in the data: singles say they are more willing than before to fall for someone who disagrees with them on almost everything else. Since 2019, willingness to fall in love with someone with different religious views rose from 43 percent to 57 percent, with different views on social issues from 44 percent to 56 percent, and with a different approach to money from 49 percent to 56 percent. Overall openness to political differences barely moved.
Wanting commitment again
The study also points to a revival of interest in marriage. The share of singles who said they don’t want a relationship peaked at 32 percent in 2021 and fell to 24 percent this year, while 45 percent said they would like to marry someday, up from 33 percent in 2010, Indiana University reported.
Money is part of it. Fifty-two percent said the difficult economy made them more interested in finding someone to share their life with, nearly double the 27 percent who said so in 2013. The economy or finances was also the most commonly named daily stressor.
“Our data show that singles are becoming more flexible regarding what a good relationship can look like over time,” said Amanda Gesselman, a senior research scientist at the Kinsey Institute and a co-lead of the study. “The milestones that used to define a relationship in our society have become less essential.”
AI in the mix
Nearly 4 in 10 singles, 39 percent, have used artificial intelligence in their dating lives, most often to improve communication, find better matches or generate message ideas. That includes 67 percent of Gen Z singles, 46 percent of millennials, 24 percent of Gen X and 5 percent of baby boomers. But 34 percent said using AI to alter profile photos is a dealbreaker.
In Match’s release, 72 percent of singles said they were interested in or open to dating, and 49 percent said they had fallen for someone they did not initially find attractive.
“Knowing what matters to you doesn’t mean knowing exactly who you’ll fall for,” said Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute.
The survey is funded by a dating company, and its figures reflect self-reported attitudes.
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