By Kyle Trygstad

Nearly half of Americans now believe the Democratic Party is too liberal, while some see the Republican Party as slightly more moderate than it was just two years ago. Gallup's new survey shows that perceptions of Democrats are now approaching what they looked like just after the 1994 midterm cycle.

"Currently, by 49% to 40%, more Americans perceive the Democratic Party as too liberal than say the Republican Party is too conservative, giving the Republicans an advantage in an important election year," Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones writes.

Two years ago, during an election year that Democrats increased their congressional majorities and won the White House, 50% said the views of the Democratic Party were "about right," and 39% said they were too liberal. Now, just 38% say they're about right and 49% say they're too liberal.

That's just 1 point below the party's all-time high of 50% in a survey conducted after the Republicans had retaken control of Congress in 1994. The increase in liberal views of the Democrats has largely come from independents and Republicans, with 12% more independents and 8% more Republicans viewing the party as more liberal.

As for Republicans, just about the same number of people say the party's views are too conservative or about right. In 2008, 43% said GOP views were too conservative and 38% said they were about right. Now, 40% say they're too conservative and 41% say they're about right. Still, the number of people who see the GOP as too conservative remains near its highest point since the early 1990s.

"In their efforts to attract widespread voter support in general elections, parties and their candidates generally want to avoid being perceived as too ideologically extreme," Jones writes. "With Election Day more than four months away, however, the Democratic Party has an opportunity in the 2010 campaign to try to alter voters' perceptions of the party's ideology."