Race, Religion, and Immigration in 2016

June 14, 2017June 14, 2017 researcher

How the Debate over American Identity Shaped the Election and What It Means for a Trump Presidency

Key Findings

• Even before the 2016 election, there was increasing alignment between race and partisanship, with white voters without a college education shifting sharply toward the Republican Party.
• Attitudes related to immigration, religion, and race were more salient to voter decision-making in 2016 than in 2012. Other attitudes do not show this pattern.
• There are serious partisan cleavages in how Americans feel about immigrants and Muslims.
• Large majorities agree on certain criteria for “being American,” but Democrats and Republicans disagree about whether being Christian is an important criterion.
• Americans see both positive and negative consequences to the demographic changes that are projected to make the U.S. a majority-minority nation.

 

Sources

https://www.voterstudygroup.org/reports/2016-elections/race-religion-immigration-2016

Link to Report pdf: file:///C:/Users/Freeha%20Riaz/Desktop/RaceReligionImmigration_2017june12.pdf