So much for accepting the results of an election. This is not all on Donald Trump. Nearly 20 percent of Hillary supporters said they will do the same thing. Still, it’s a little absurd so many people say they won’t accept the results and will encourage politicians to engage in obstruction.
After the votes are counted Tuesday night, how will Americans react if their candidate loses? Speculation abounds.
Our recent surveys indicate that supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will respond differently, with Trump voters more likely to say they would protest the legitimacy of the election and encourage lawmakers to engage in political obstruction.
Things get a little worse as well:
Clinton voters would want lawmakers to work with a Trump president. Trump voters don’t feel the same way.
But when we look at the way that Trump and Clinton supporters would want lawmakers to react to a victory by the other side, we find significant partisan differences. First, 31 percent of Trump supporters said they would personally protest the legitimacy of a Clinton presidency. In contrast, the share of Clinton voters who said they would protest a Trump victory was just 20 percent.
Polarization abounds, unfortunately:
Second, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Clinton supporters said their party should work with Trump if he wins. But if Clinton wins, just 45 percent of Trump supporters said that Republicans should work with her.
Instead, nearly one-third (31 percent) of Trump supporters said they would want their party’s to “block any policy” coming from a Clinton administration.
It’s likely that some of this is likely due to the stress of election season and a very strong attachment to the candidate of their choice. Still, when you have two major party candidates as unpopular as these two, it’s not shocking to see these numbers.
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