Off Topic: Clinton Supporters Are More Financially Secure

Don’t worry, we’re not turning into pollsters…

In Temkin Group’s latest consumer benchmark study of 10,000 U.S. consumers that was just fielded in August, we asked consumers about their plans for the upcoming presidential election. Clinton and Trump supporters are identified as the people who are currently planning to vote for each candidate.

Given all of the other questions that we ask, we now have a fairly comprehensive profile on the presidential candidates’ supporters. But we’re not going to use the data to drive any projections or provide it to political analysts. We’re just going to look for some interesting elements to share.

Temkin Well-Being Index of Candidate Supporters

We publish the Temkin Well-Being Index (TWBi) annually as a gauge of the overall welfare of the U.S. population, examining how happy, healthy, and financially secure they feel. So I thought it would be fun to examine the TWBi of the candidates’ supporters and compare it to our Q1 2016 U.S. results. As you can see in the chart below:

• TWBi is high for both candidates. Both candidates’ supporters have a higher TWBi than what we found across the U.S. in our Q1 report. Clinton supporters, however, have a 2-point higher TWBi than do Trump supporters.
• The largest gap is in financial security. Clinton supporters have a 4-point gap with Trump supporters, who are 5-points above the overall Q1 U.S. score.
• Clinton supporters are healthier. Clinton supporters are 2.5-points healthier than Trump supporters, who are 3-points healthier than the overall Q1 U.S. score.
• Both groups are happier. Trump supporters are slightly happier than Clinton supporters, but they are both about 3-points higher than the overall Q1 U.S. score.

Other Interesting Tidbits

Here are some additional findings:

• Clinton’s strongest age group is 18- to 34-year-olds, while Trump’s is 65 and older. It turns out that Trump’s support is lowest with the youngest adults and increases with every older age group.
• Clinton’s strongest income group is those who make $100K to $200K per year, while Trump’s is those making more than $200K. Clinton just about doubles Trump’s support with consumers who make less than $50K per year.
• Clinton beats Trump by 64-points with African Americans, 38 points with Hispanics, and 26 points with Asians.
• Both candidates’ support is lowest with consumers who have not graduated high school, Clinton’s support increases with every increase in education, while Trump’s support does not change much across the other levels of education.
• Clinton’s supporters are more likely than Trump’s to have Android and iPhones, while Trump’s supporters are more likely than Clinton’s to have cell phones that are not smart phones.

About Our Consumer Benchmark Study

We field surveys throughout the year to examine topics that relate to customer experience, employee engagement, consumer behavior, and leadership. Our Q3 2016 survey is one of those ongoing studies. We surveyed 10,000 U.S. consumers with quotas set to closely match the U.S. census distributions for age, income, gender, ethnicity, and region. We deployed the survey online in August 2016 and purchased access to consumer panels through a third party provider. Clinton and Trump supporters are identified as the people who are currently planning to vote for each candidate.