The shifting U.S. political landscape is influencing more than election outcomes. It’s also reshaping how consumers view brands, their values and the positions they take on social and political issues, according to a new report by YouGov.
Few brands demonstrate this shift more dramatically than American Eagle. The denim-focused specialty retailer was named America’s most bipartisan brand in 2024. Two years later, and following a controversial campaign starring actress Syndey Sweeney that even drew comment from U.S. President Donald Trump, the teen retailer now ranks second among fashion brands Republicans are more likely to prefer.
The global online-based market research and data analytics company’s “U.S. Bipartisan Brand Rankings 2026” report examines consumer preferences across various categories, identifying brands that resonate more strongly with consumers on either side of the political divide, as well as those that attract support from both Republicans and Democrats. The rankings are based on insights from YouGov BrandIndex, an automated brand and competitor tracking tool that measures the public’s perception of thousands of brands, and YouGov Profiles, a market research and audience intelligence tool that aggregates demographic and behavioral data from millions of registered panel members.
While denim brands spent part of 2026 celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States with special products and activations that emphasized patriotism over politics, some nonetheless found stronger support among conservative or liberal consumers.
Among fashion brands, Wrangler ranked No. 1 among Republicans, followed by American Eagle and Heydude. Gap ranked No. 1 among Democrats, followed by Old Navy and Patagonia.
Hobby Lobby was named the No. 1 preferred retail brand of Republicans, followed by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s. Ikea, Barnes & Noble and REI ranked the top three retail brands among Democrats.
The report examined several sectors. For example, Democrats’ preferred airlines are Delta, JetBlue and Air Canada, while Allegiant Airlines is the only airline to receive higher consideration from Republicans than from Democrats.
Democrats’ preferred fast food is Chipotle and Republicans’ preferred fast food is Chick-fil-a. Zelle is Democrats’ preferred payment brand, while Republicans choose PayPal.
YouGov said only 35 percent of the 2,238 U.S. brands measured in the study are bipartisan and Jockey is the only fashion brand to rank on the top 10 bipartisan brand list at No. 9.
Subway, Verizon Wireless, Bengay, Spotify, Pedialyte, Hot Pockets, LG, Icy Hot and GE rounded out the top 10 list of bipartisan brands.
The report also shows a clear divide in how consumers want brands to participate in politics. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans polled during October said brands that express views on political or social issues “are trying to exploit them,” compared to 39 percent of Democrats polled. Most Democrats (57 percent) said they like brands that are willing to get involved in social issues versus 17 percent of Republicans.
