An increase of independent voters in key battleground states could affect the election, according to a Bloomberg News analysis.

That is a problem for Democrats, who have lost the most voters in those states.

The ranks of indepdendent voters have grown in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Carolina — by a total of 443,000 since 2008.

Democrats have lost 480,000 voters in the six states while Republicans have gained 38,000 voters.

Michelle Diggles of Third Way, a political research group, told Bloomberg News that independents are “really just fed up with both parties.”

That may be true. But if the analysis is correct, a surge toward independence may set Democrats back while benefiting Republicans.

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