There is a giant 'enthusiasm gap' between Democrat and Republican voters
Who's feeling excited about voting for president next year? "Not I," say a lot of Democrats, according to the latest CNN/ORC International poll. Measuring the levels of excitement for the 2016 election, CNN/ORC found a large "enthusiasm gap" between voters who lean left or right: Thirty-six percent of Republicans felt "very enthusiastic" about voting for the next president, compared to the Democrat's lukewarm 19 percent.
Naturally, Democrats brush off the enthusiasm gap as any sort of indication of what will happen next year, with Hillary Clinton pollster John Anzalone telling Politico that, “Sitting here in almost-January-2016, any diagnostic on enthusiasm or motivation is really useless." But Republicans point out that the enthusiasm gap is likely due at least in part to a dislike for Obama and Clinton.
“As much as we want our politics to be all positive, what drives turnout to a great extent is just being pissed off at somebody," GOP pollster Jon McHenry said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Why do Republicans fear swing state immigration raids in North Carolina?Today's Big Question Trump's aggressive enforcement sparks backlash worries
-
‘Every teacher is a literacy teacher’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pull over for these one-of-a-kind gas stationsThe Week Recommends Fill ’er up next to highland cows and a giant soda bottle
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
