16.7.1

Coalition of Supporters

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Coalition of supporters

US political parties appeal to groups of voters. Support for the Democrats and Republicans differs based on religion, race, gender and education.

Religion

Religion

  • Religion is important for voters because it is linked to their views on social issues.
  • Protestants mainly support Republicans because they tend to prefer presidents who nominate judges with a literal interpretation of the Constitution and who make rulings aligned with their social beliefs.
  • Catholics have increased their Republican support because many oppose abortion.
  • The religious right movement supports Republicans because the party promotes family values and opposes same-sex marriage and abortion.
Race

Race

  • The Democrats traditionally have stronger support from racial minority groups including Hispanics and African-Americans.
    • In 2008, support for the Democrats was particularly high with 95% of African-Americans voting for Barack Obama.
  • In 2016, Hispanics supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign included negative statements about Mexican immigrants.
    • Republicans have also attracted Hispanic support, such as in 2000 when George W. Bush won a significant share of the Hispanic vote.
Education

Education

  • Educational attainment influenced party support in the 2016 election.
  • Donald Trump won strong support from less well-educated voters who had not attended college.
    • These voters supported Trump’s policies on restricting illegal immigration and restoring national pride.
    • Trump was supported by 71% of white males without a college degree, whilst 23% supported Hillary Clinton.
Gender

Gender

  • Women mostly support Democratic candidates over Republicans in presidential elections.
  • Democratic policies tend to appeal more to women than Republican policies.
    • Democrats favour gun control, lower defence spending and support abortion rights for women.
    • Democrats are opposed to capital punishment, which appeals to many women voters.
Gender in the 2016 election

Gender in the 2016 election

  • In the 2016 election, there was significant female support for Hillary Clinton and greater male support for Donald Trump.
    • Donald Trump’s attitude to women became a focus of the 2016 election after a video was released in which he made inappropriate comments about kissing and groping women.
    • 54% of women voted for Clinton, whilst 41% voted for Trump.
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