Does anyone have any statistics on how many registered democrats are closet republicans  ?  They registered democrat when they were 18 because their family was democrat. As they grew older they changed their views to conservative but never changed their party from democrat to republican.

Many of the people who were active in the Labor Movement in FDR's time and through the Truman Administration and Korean War began to eventually succeed. They started their own businesses and bought stock in companies that prospered in the Post War years, and their concerns changed. Shamefully, some of these were the Dixiecrats who didn't actually switch parties until Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill, but in the North and Civilized Western States they were really torn between the parties during the Eisenhower Administration.

Many remained Democrats partly because it was the party passed down to them, but held concerns and values that SEEMED to align with the Republican Party. Small business sounded like something they had in common. But as the economy morphed into Corporate power, many small businesses really suffered when they tried to compete. Butcher shops and groceries were run out of business. The large department store chains took over clothing, toys, kitchenware, stationery--a lot of venues where small businessmen just couldn't compete and closed shop.

So today it's probably a little less confusing. If you start a business today only a fool really wants to grow it and pass it on to his children. Today a startup is the product, the main fish an entrepreneur has to hawk to a corporation who might buy him out. So where one stands in the labor/management scheme doesn't really mean much when it comes to Party affiliation.

Many African Americans were republican before 1960. They were told that republican is the party of Lincoln.  They switched to democrat after JFK came into office and switched even more after the civil rights bill of 1964. The irony is that LBJ was a Dixiecrat  who fought hard against civil rights.  After JFK death he changed his mind. After the African Americans switched the Dixiecrat switched to republican (red states we have today).

Conservatives call them RINO. They even call people like Romney, Ryan, O'Reilly by such label. Now very ironically, some Cruz conservatives say Trump is neither Republican nor conservative. Oh my GOP, we live in interesting time

Oh, wait.  You're not "in the closet" about that.  Everyone knows you're an idiot.

I do think many people that claim to be " independent " are basically UTR republicans that are too embarrassed to admit it.

But as to your question , I suspect it works both ways. I know I was born into a republican family and always supported republican candidates and positions until that party was taken over and deconstructed by the tea party , NRA and the religious right.

Sat quietly through many Christmas & Thanksgiving dinners...lo

I haven't.

My uncle would say buffoon.

I guess that means you are claiming that idiocy does not run in your family, and that you are not a Chicken Little in a long line of Chicken Littles. Good to know. One of you (well two, including your alias) is more than enough, I would hate to think of there being more like you at home.

We spent 2.5 on the phone talking about this election and history of elections.  Like Hillary her supporters never give up on trying to convince people to vote for her.

LA times poll today has Trump ahead.