CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LendingTree®,
a leading online loan marketplace, today released new survey data
comparing the financial backgrounds of the 2016 electorate. Given
this year's polarizing election cycle with financial and
socioeconomic topics, such as minimum wage and education costs
being at the front of many discussions, LendingTree decided to
compare how different candidate and party supporters really were
financially.
LendingTree conducted the survey online via SurveyMonkey and
polled a nationally representative sample of respondents ages 18
and up. A total of 1,616 completed responses were collected between
June 9th, 2016 and
June 14th, 2016.
Comparison of Party Voter Bases
To compare party voters, respondents were asked, "When voting,
which party's candidates do you generally vote for?" Republican
(Red) voters accounted for 31.94% of respondents while Democratic
(Blue) voters accounted for 44.21% of survey respondents. Remaining
respondents were independent voters (4.87%), rarely voted based on
party lines (12.95%), or don't vote or have never voted (6.03%)
Financial Knowledgeability
Respondents were asked to gauge their own financial and economic
knowledgeability. When compared, Republicans and Democrats rated
themselves similarly in their own knowledge.
- 24.26% of Republicans considered themselves very knowledgeable
and 56.21% considered themselves somewhat knowledgeable.
- 22.80% of Democrats considered themselves very knowledgeable
and 54.25% considered themselves somewhat knowledgeable.
Both party voters were also similarly likely to consider
themselves more financially and economically knowledgeable compared
to the average American. 58.28% of Republicans stated they were at
least above average in their knowledge while 50.99 % of Democrats
felt they were at least above average. This potentially indicates a
superiority bias (or Lake Wobegon effect, named after Garrison Keillor's fictional town where "all the
children are above average") amongst both party's
constituencies.
Financial Responsibility
This bias appears to continue among both party voters' sense of
personal financial responsibility.
- 45.36% of Republicans considered themselves very financially
responsible and another 41.81% considered themselves at least
somewhat responsible.
- 42.21% of Democrats considered themselves very financially
responsible and another 43.35% considered themselves at least
somewhat responsible.
Amongst Republicans, 65.68% of considered themselves at least
above average in terms of financial responsibility compared to the
average American. 59.49% of Democrats considered themselves above
average.
Comparison of Red vs. Blue States
LendingTree studied internal data to further compare the
financial differences between Democratic and Republican voters by
comparing traditionally blue states and traditionally red states.
Traditionally blue states were considered those where a Democratic
candidate carried at least three of the last four presidential
elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012). Traditionally red states were
those where a Republican candidate carried at least three of the
last four presidential elections. Swing states were considered
those where a Republican and Democratic candidate each carried two
of the last four elections.
By Credit Score
When comparing blue and red states by credit score, Democrats
took nearly every top 10 slot for having the highest credit scores
in the nation. Colorado, which had
the nation's 5th highest credit score, is a swing state
and the only non-blue state in the top 10. Washington D.C. had the highest average credit
score in the nation, with an average of 696. Hawaii and California (both traditionally blue) came in
2nd and 3rd respectively with average scores
of 691 and 687.
Unfortunately for Republicans, red states took every bottom 10
spot for average credit scores. Mississippi had the worst average credit score
in the nation with an average of 632.
By Credit Card Debt and Utilization
Traditionally blue states tended to carry more credit card debt
compared to traditionally red states. Mississippi had the lowest average credit card
debt while D.C. had the highest. However, incomes and costs of
living are generally higher among blue states. Credit utilization
is therefore a better indicator of financial health.
Generally, the lower the utilization, the better. Alabama (traditionally red) had the lowest
credit utilization in the nation with an average of 26.9% of credit
used. West Virginia (also
traditionally red) was 2nd with an average utilization
of 27.2%, and Florida (swing
state) came in 3rd with 27.2% average utilization.
North Dakota (traditionally
red) had the highest credit utilization with 42.3% average
utilization.
A complete rankings list comparing Red and Blue states is
available for download here.
Comparison of Candidate Voter Bases
To compare individual candidate voters, respondents were asked,
"Of the remaining candidates, who would be your primary pick for
President?" At the time of the survey's release, the remaining
candidates included Hillary Clinton
(D), Bernie Sanders (I/D), and
Donald Trump (R). Respondents
additionally had the options to select Undecided or None of the
Above/I do not plan on voting.
By Financial Stability
In a self-assessment question where respondents were asked to
define their current financial situation by stability:
- 59.67% of Clinton supporters considered themselves stable or
very stable financially
- 55.82% of Trump supporters considered themselves stable or very
stable financially
- 49.87% of Sanders supporters considered themselves table or
very stable financially
With the exception of Sanders supporters, (whose voter base
primarily consists of younger Millennial voters) there is
relatively little variation between voters who feel they are
financially stable. However, while only 15.84% of Clinton
supporters felt they were financially unstable or very unstable,
22.63% of Trump supporters felt they were financially unstable.
28.23% of Bernie supporters felt they were financially
unstable.
By Financial Happiness
In another self-assessment question where respondents were asked
to rate their current financial happiness:
- 51.03% of Clinton supporters considered themselves financially
happy or very happy
- 46.34 of Trump supporters considered themselves financially
happy or very happy
- 37.73% of Sanders supporters considered themselves financially
happy or very happy
As a percentage, Clinton supporters however, were almost twice
as likely to say they were financially very happy, with 18.31%
stating they were very happy, while only 9.27% of Trump supporters
were very happy. Sanders supporters were the least financially
happy electorate with 35.36% of supporters stating they were
financially unhappy or very unhappy. Comparatively, Trump and
Clinton supporters are similar with only 23.87% of Clinton
supporters being either unhappy or very happy financially, and
26.94% of Trump supporters being unhappy.
About LendingTree
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is
the nation's leading online loan marketplace, empowering consumers
as they comparison-shop across a full suite of loan and
credit-based offerings. LendingTree provides an online marketplace
which connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for
their business, as well as an array of online tools and information
to help consumers find the best loan. Since inception, LendingTree
has facilitated more than 55 million loan requests. LendingTree
provides free monthly credit scores through My LendingTree and
access to its network of over 350 lenders offering home loans,
personal loans, credit cards, student loans, business loans, home
equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans and more. LendingTree, LLC
is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. For more information go
to www.lendingtree.com, dial 800-555-TREE, like
our Facebook page and/or follow us on
Twitter @LendingTree.
Contact:
Megan Greuling
704-943-8208
Megan.Greuling@tree.com
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