Exit Poll Revelations
by Rick Wolff (m)
Exit polls conducted at last week’s elections reveal the contradictions and limits of the Democrats’ victories. As reported in the New York Times (November 9, 2006, page P7), the four fifths of US voters who are white preferred Republicans (52 to 48 percent), while Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians chose Democrats (by 89 to 11, 70 to 30, and 62 to 38 respectively). Looking at voters’ income levels showed that the lower the family income, the larger the Democratic margin. Families earning below $15,000 preferred Democrats over Republicans by 69 to 31 percent. As incomes rose, the Democratic advantage fell: families with incomes over $100,000 — 23 per cent of voters — preferred Republicans over Democrats by 52 to 48 percent. Democrats owe their victories in no small measure to the poorer and the less white among us.
Yet, consider these contradictory numbers for families with very high annual incomes ($150,000 - 200,000). Those living in the East preferred Democrats by 63 to 37 percent, a remarkable shift from 2004 when they preferred Republicans by 50 to 48 percent. For Eastern families earning over $200,000, the 2006 results showed a preference for Democrats of 50 to 48 percent, compared to 2004 when those families preferred Republicans by 56 to 40. Exit polls in the South, West, and Midwest, while less extreme, showed similar shifts. Many of the richest Americans changed their party preferences over the last two years.
The exit polls therefore pose an obvious question: why did so many of the richest families switch their contributions and their votes to Democrats? [more]