The first results from the Morning Consult/POLITICO Exit Poll of early and Election-Day voters finds that voters are anxious, nervous, sad and angry and want a strong leader. Apparently that’s code for Donald, because according to Politico, that is a characterization Donald Trump’s team made central to his campaign:
Asked what characteristic is most important for the next president, 36 percent of voters say they want a “strong leader,” 29 percent want “a vision for the future,” 16 percent want someone who “cares about people like me” and another 16 percent said they want someone who “shares my values.”
The percentage of voters thus far who say they want a strong leader – a characterization Donald Trump’s team made central to his campaign – is twice the percentage who said they were looking for a strong leader in the 2012 National Election Pool exit poll.
The exit poll also finds voters are relieved the campaign is over — 85 percent of voters say they “just want it to be over,” while 72 percent are “anxious” and 71 percent are “nervous.” A smaller majority of voters describe themselves as “angry,” 53 percent, and half are “sad.” A smaller percentage, 39 percent, go as far as to call themselves “depressed.”
Independents (47 percent) are more depressed than Democrats (36 percent) or Republicans (37 percent). Similarly, 60 percent of independents say they are angry, compared to 50 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans.
Fewer than three-in-10 voters describe themselves as “proud” (29 percent) or “happy” (25 percent) about the election.
Voters are mixed on the state of the economy. Only 32 percent of voters say the nation’s financial situation is better today than it was four years ago, fewer than the 44 percent who say it is worse today. Twenty-one percent of voters say the economy is about the same.
The Morning Consult/POLITICO Exit Poll was conducted October 18-November 8 among 6,782 early and Election-Day voters.
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