Political analysts say the extreme left and the extreme right are making for a strongly divided electorate.
The experts also talk about strong party affiliations, with Republicans always voting for Republicans and Democrats always voting for Democrats, no matter what the quality of the candidate.
But a new study this week shows that factor may not be the deciding factor in next year’s elections.
Researchers at the Ohio State University studied voters who describe themselves as independents and found that they base their choices on who they dislike rather than who they like.
Political surveys from the Pew Research Center across several elections show that independents have a consistent pattern of voting against candidates rather than voting in favor of one.
So while most voters in each of the political parties will vote for their candidates no matter who they are, independent voters decide which candidate is the one they dislike the most, and then vote for the other candidate, unless they decide to vote for none of them or not vote at all.
And with these surveys that show that a lot of voters don’t like either expected presidential candidate in 2024, the outcome of the election could very well depend on those independent voters. And on what the candidates do…to not be hated so much.
(PHOTO GETTY IMAGES)
Photo: Getty Images