OPINION | The 5 types of Trump voter: How a fractured coalition can lead to broken promises
By Emily Ekins, opinion columnist - 08/05/17 07:00 AM EDT The latest Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has been touch and go for months now. Many are asking why Republicans have had such trouble delivering, even with control of the House, Senate, and the White House. President Trump lays blame primarily at the hands of Democrats. However, research I conducted as part of the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group on the 2016 election finds that the president’s fractured coalition is largely responsible.
A statistical analysis of an 8,000 person survey uncovered five different types of Trump voters. These voters disagree on nearly every major policy issue surveyed — including on health care, taxes, immigration, race, and matters of American identity. These internal disagreements help to explain why the Trump agenda is having a difficult time in Congress even as 82 percent of Republicans remain behind him.
One group of Trump backers, whom I call American Preservationists, comprise Trump’s core base of supporters who propelled him through the primaries. They have lower incomes and education and are underemployed. Nearly half of those working age are on Medicaid. Out of step with Republican orthodoxy, Preservationists favor tax hikes on the wealthy, are deeply skeptical of immigration — both legal and illegal — and overwhelmingly support a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. They also feel less favorable toward immigrants and racial minorities, and nearly half think being of European descent is important for being truly American.
Free Marketeers are 25 percent of Trump’s backers and they are the mirror image of American Preservationists, having the highest incomes and education levels. They are most skeptical of Trump, with most saying they voted against Hillary Clinton
rather than for Trump. In contrast to the Preservationists, these are small government fiscal conservatives who embrace free trade. At the same time, they are as likely as Democrats to have warm feelings toward immigrants and racial minorities, and to support making legal immigration easier.
The largest Trump voter group is the Staunch Conservatives. They are 31 percent of his support and were the group that combined with the American Preservationists to give Trump the Republican nomination. They are loyal Republicans with conventionally conservative positions on social and economic issues. They also have warm feelings toward racial minorities in the U.S. However, although not as hardline as the Preservationists, they too are skeptical of immigration and strongly support a temporary travel ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S.
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http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/345412-opinion-the-5-types-of-trump-voter-how-a-fractured
