Elections

Trump’s Popularity In The Primary May Backfire In The General

REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Juliegrace Brufke Capitol Hill Reporter
Font Size:

GOP voter turnout during the 2016 presidential primaries has been exceptionally strong while Democrats numbers have dropped this election cycle – but if you look at past data, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will see a President Donald Trump if he wins the nomination.

The Wall Street Journal reports Republican voter turnout has skyrocketed 64 percent since 2012, which it largely attributed to the billionaire real estate developer piquing Americans’ interest – but some experts say Trump’s rhetoric may also draw his critics to come out to the polls in November.

According to Matt Dallek, assistant professor of political management in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, the crowded Republican field filled with high-profile names may have been a large factor in the rise in numbers.

“Trump, at least in the current moment, remains a uniquely polarizing figure among Republicans, so Republicans also turned out because they wanted to stop him,” Dallek told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “I’m not sure that the uptick in Republican primary turnout translates into an uptick in Republican turnout in the fall, and also you could see the opposite of that if Republicans decide to stay home.”

As David Brooks of The New York Times recently pointed out during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” – if you look at past elections – there is often a disconnect between party turnout during the primaries and the outcome of general elections.

In 1776, 1980, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008 the opposite party that won the general election had a higher voter turnout during the primary process.

Another factor that may play a part in November’s results is Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton failing to gain the support President Barack Obama was able to garner during his past two elections.

“One of the great questions of this election is that without Obama on the ballot, and with Hillary Clinton who is obviously a very flawed candidate, and with significant opposition from the Democratic Party, is that Obama electorate, that sort of rising American electorate, is that going to turn out in November for Hillary Clinton?” Dallek said. “And I think it’s reasonable to think that the reaction to Trump, the fear of Trump, will be as much if not more of a motivator to people as the desire to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton.”

According to the latest CNN/ORC poll, Clinton is leading Trump by 13 points nationally.

Follow Juliegrace Brufke on Twitter

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel