There is a giant 'enthusiasm gap' between Democrat and Republican voters

Polls show that different voters hold different levels of enthusiasm.
(Image credit: iStock)

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

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.