My experience aligns strongly with yours (self-declared 'independents' being almost universally conservative leaning) but anecdotally I also think a significant

My experience aligns strongly with yours (self-declared 'independents' being almost universally conservative leaning) but anecdotally I also think a significant part of the growing number of people who identify as "independents" recently may be left leaning folks who are simply fed up with Democratic party leadership (or lack thereof) and the inability of the party to act as a true opposition party as our democracy falls apart.