Moderates, Not Extremists, Swung the Election for Trump

Jonathon Schuldt, professor of communication at Cornell University, and Peter Enns, professor of government at Cornell University and director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, worked with their undergraduate students in a public opinion course to survey voters ahead of the election, and found a previously undiscovered pocket of Trump supporters which – they thought – would not swing the election in Trump’s favor. In the aftermath of last week’s results, Schuldt and Enns revisited their prognostication– the subject of an Op-Ed in The New York Times this morning – and explain why a hidden group of moderates stayed hidden from pollsters.

Biographies: Schuldt: https://communication.cals.cornell.edu/people/jonathon-schuldt, Enns: http://government.cornell.edu/peter-k-enns

They say:

“The group that pollsters missed who ushered Trump into the White House wasn’t a hidden group with extreme attitudes but a more moderate group that leaned Trump but didn’t admit this to pollsters.

“This group of hidden Trump supporters also appeared more liberal than typical Trump supporters, expressing policy preferences on a range of issues that fell between those of Clinton and Trump voters.

“Although we hope that this group that helped swing the election might also swing President Trump in a more moderate direction, Trump’s choice of Steve Bannon as chief strategist and Frank Gaffney as a transition team adviser suggests that so far he is not representing this group.”

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.

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