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| A man holds up a “Drain the Swamp” sign at an Oct. 26 Donald Trump rally in Kinston, N.C. |
Donald Trump was elected president — at least in part — because he promised to change how business is done in Washington and because he’s a self-styled outsider.
But just how big a deal is that to voters?
Newly released data from the Pew Research Center sheds some light. The Pew poll shows that a candidate having Washington experience is a liability for more voters than a candidate being gay or being a Mormon and is an issue for only slightly fewer people than a candidate having had an extramarital affair.
Pew cued up the data after Democrat Kate Brown of Oregon this month became the first LGBT candidate to be elected a governor. (Brown, who is bisexual, had previously ascended to the job after John Kitzhaber’s resignation.)
While 26 percent of people said they would be less likely to vote for
a gay or lesbian candidate, according to the Pew data from January, 31
percent said they would be less likely to vote for someone who has
“Washington experience.” It should be noted here that “Washington
experience” doesn’t necessarily mean someone who has been in Washington
for many years or even decades or is an insider — just someone who has
been there. It’s a pretty low bar.
It’s also worth noting that having Washington experience is a positive for many voters — though perhaps not as many as you’d expect or as used to be the case. Just 22 percent said they would be more likely to vote for someone with Washington experience.
So when Hillary Clinton was out there on the campaign trail talking about her decades of working in Washington and all the experience that came with it, it seems possible it was actually a net negative for her. Of course, given her résumé, it was unavoidable and probably worth trying to put a good spin on.
But all of this is assuming that people truly know what motivates them — which is an open question. People may say they like the idea of a Washington outsider, but the vast majority of those elected to Congress every year are people who are already in or have been in Washington. Outsiders tend to struggle to compete for several reasons, including the fact that they tend to have little experience running campaigns.
As for other characteristics, 23 percent say they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon — an issue that came up during Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2008, and to a lesser extent during his 2012 bid. Twenty percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who had used marijuana, 42 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a Muslim, and 51 percent said they would be less likely to vote for an atheist.
It’s also worth noting that having Washington experience is a positive for many voters — though perhaps not as many as you’d expect or as used to be the case. Just 22 percent said they would be more likely to vote for someone with Washington experience.
So when Hillary Clinton was out there on the campaign trail talking about her decades of working in Washington and all the experience that came with it, it seems possible it was actually a net negative for her. Of course, given her résumé, it was unavoidable and probably worth trying to put a good spin on.
But all of this is assuming that people truly know what motivates them — which is an open question. People may say they like the idea of a Washington outsider, but the vast majority of those elected to Congress every year are people who are already in or have been in Washington. Outsiders tend to struggle to compete for several reasons, including the fact that they tend to have little experience running campaigns.
As for other characteristics, 23 percent say they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon — an issue that came up during Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2008, and to a lesser extent during his 2012 bid. Twenty percent said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who had used marijuana, 42 percent said they would be less likely to vote for a Muslim, and 51 percent said they would be less likely to vote for an atheist.
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