Gallup: Only 27 Percent of Working-Class Whites Support Obama
Thursday, November 27, 2014 08:33 AM
By: Elliot Jager
Just 27 percent of white non-college graduates approve of President Barack Obama's job performance, according to the latest Gallup survey.
He does 14 percentage points better among white college graduates, with a 41 percent rating. The gap between the two white groups has never been this big since the president took office.
Support overall for Obama among whites has dropped steadily throughout his term.
Level of education is key to Obama's popularity — or lack thereof — among whites. In 2009, Obama's approval gap between college-educated and non-college-educated whites was 6 points. It went to 10 points in 2010; 12 points in 2013, and now stands at 14 points.
Differences of opinion about Obama are also evident along ethnic lines, with 32 percent of non-Hispanic whites approving his performance compared to 84 percent of blacks. Asians give him 64 percent support, compared to 53 percent among those of Hispanic heritage.
With roughly 67 percent of adult whites not having completed college, the "sheer size" of "the working-class white population" makes this bloc "of keen importance to politicians and strategists on both sides of the aisle," according to Gallup.
The president does best among white female college graduates with 45 percent approval, followed by 37 percent among white male college graduates. He gets a 25 percent rating among white male non-college graduates and 29 percent among female non-college graduates.
Political strategists have talked about whether Democrats can make inroads with white voters by appealing to their economic situations. The cultural positions taken by the party have pushed many working-class voters away, according to Gallup.
"Working-class whites exhibit weak support for the Democrats and their president, and it's not clear how likely that is to change as time goes on," Gallup concluded.
The poll, which was conducted before the midterm elections earlier this month, has a margin of error of about 1 percent.
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