How America Voted in 2012
I’ve found it fascinating to take a look at how America voted in the 2012 Presidential Election.
As we all know, Obama won re-election. But who are the people who voted for him? Check out this chart I made based on Exit Polls published by CNN.com.
If you don’t check out the chart, let me give you a snapshot of who (by the numbers) is a typical Obama supporter vs Romney supporter…
Those who supported Obama are: younger, non-white women who have some high school, college, or postgraduate education, make less than $50k per year, liberal, moderate, and democratic, are either Catholic or not religious, thinks the Government should do more, wants abortion to be legal and immigrants to be granted legal status, feel that the pressing issues are foreign policy and health care, are enthusiastic or satisfied with Obama, and are hopeful for the future (and are in the majority).
Those who supported Romney are: older, white men who have a college degree, make more than $50k per year, conservative, moderate, or republican, Protestant, thinks the government is doing too much, wants abortion illegal and immigrants to be deported, feel that the pressing issues are the deficit and the economy, are dissatisfied or angry with Obama, and are not hopeful for the future (and are in the minority).
In an article entitled 5 Lessons Marketers Can Learn From Obama’s Victory it says:
It’s only been a day or so since the election, but already the conventional wisdom about the 2012 election is that the GOP failed by focusing too exclusively on white men. George H.W. Bush won the White House in 1988 with a 426-111 electoral college landslide over Michael Dukakis by garnering 60% of the white vote. Romney got 59% of the white vote, but in 24 years, the country had changed so much demographically that Romney was trounced in the electoral college. Marketers crafting campaigns would be wise to heed the observation of GOP strategist Chuck Warren who mused that “To be frank, we’re a ‘Mad Men’ party in a ‘Modern Family’ world.”
If the Republicans want to be successful, they better figure out how to broaden their base. Perhaps they miscalculated what America is currently thinking and looking for.