Even if their preferred candidate wins, a new poll released Wednesday found that supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will feel more relief than excitement.
The findings from the Pew Research Center revealed widespread disenchantment toward this year’s presidential contest among American voters. Majorities of voters say they are frustrated (57%) and disgusted (55%) with the campaign, dwarfing those who say they are interested (31%), optimistic (15%) and excited (10%).
Those lukewarm attitudes even extend to backers of the two major party nominees. Only 25% of Clinton supporters say they would feel excited if she were to win. There was little more enthusiasm among Trump supporters; just 28% would be excited if the GOP nominee triumphs in November.
But many more Clinton supporters, 68%, say they would feel relieved if she were to win. Ditto for Trump supporters, 61% of whom say they would also feel relief if he wins.
According to Pew, a mere 11% of voters overall say they would feel excited if Trump were to win, virtually the same number (12%) who would be excited if the former secretary of state is victorious.
The race between Clinton and Trump represents a battle between two of the least liked major party candidates in history, and Pew’s findings are hardly the first to show that voters are largely disappointed with both. A Washington Post/ABC News poll last month found Clinton and Trump to be the two most unpopular presidential candidates in decades.
The Pew Research Center report is based on a random sample of 3,941 registered voters who are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel. Respondents took the survey between August 16 and September 12 online or by mail, and were originally recruited via nationally representative telephone surveys. Results among registered voters have a margin of sampling error of 2.6 percentage points.
