Who Votes Republican?
By Mona Charen
November 9, 2018 6:30 AM
Exit polls are useful in explaining Tuesday’s results because they reflect the views of actual voters -- not ‘registered’ or ‘likely.’
Exit polls aren’t always 100 percent reliable. For example, in 2016, the exit interviews suggested that Donald Trump would lose Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina by small margins. He won all of them.
Let’s take it as given that 2018’s exit polls are likely flawed in the same way. Still, they are among the most interesting polls because they reflect the views of actual voters — not “registered†or “likely,†but the real McCoy. Margins of error we shall always have with us, but it shouldn’t stifle all punditry.
Some of the data about this year’s crop of voters is similar to what we’ve seen in past contests, but there are some trends that should give Republicans and Democrats alike cause for reflection.
A majority of voters (56 percent) were over the age of 50. This helped Republicans, as older voters skew more Republican. But it didn’t help as much as it could have because even among older voters, enthusiasm for Republicans was muted. Among those age 50 and above, only half gave their votes this year to a Republican candidate. Among the younger set, by contrast, lopsided percentages voted for Democrats. The 18- to 24-year-olds gave 68 percent of their support to Democrats. Among the 25-to-29s, 66 percent voted Democrat. It was 59 percent among voters in their 30s and 52 percent among those in their 40s.
more
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/midterm-elections-exit-polls-voter-views-republican-democrat/
