Republicans More Open to Dating Someone With Different Views Than Democrats

A higher proportion of Republicans than Democrats would consider dating someone with "opposing political views" according to a new survey, conducted exclusively for Newsweek.

The poll found 74 percent of those who voted for Donald Trump in 2020 would either "absolutely" or "maybe" be ready to date someone with rival politics, versus 71 percent for 2020 Joe Biden voters.

It comes amidst ongoing concern over the level of political division in the United States, with research published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 2022 concluding America has "chronically pernicious levels of polarization."

Asked whether they would be "willing to consider dating someone who holds opposing political views to you" 29 percent of Trump 2020 voters replied "yes absolutely," with another 45 percent for "yes maybe" and 25 percent for "no not at all."

The figures are rounded with the total amounting to 99 percent rather than 100 percent.

For Biden 2020 voters, the respective results were 30 percent for "yes absolutely," 41 percent for "yes maybe" and 29 percent for "no not at all."

The survey of 1,500 eligible voters in the United States was conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies between June 10-11.

By contrast, the poll found Biden 2020 voters would be much more open to "consider dating someone who regularly smokes cannabis" than their Republican counterparts.

Of those who backed the Democratic candidate in 2020, 31 percent said "yes absolutely" they would consider dating a heavy cannabis smoker, with another 28 percent for "yes maybe" and 41 percent for "no not at all."

The corresponding figures for 2020 Trump voters were 19 percent, 31 percent, and 49 percent.

A Generation Lab poll published in December 2021, conducted in partnership with Axios, found 71 percent of Democratic-supporting college students wouldn't date someone who voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. By contrast, just 31 percent of GOP-identifying students would refuse to date a Biden 2020 voter. This survey, of 850 college students, was conducted over three days in November.

Similarly, 37 percent of college Democrats said they would refuse to be friends with a Trump voter, against just five percent of college Republicans for a Biden supporter.

The latest polling indicated Biden and Trump are by some margin their party's preferred candidates for the 2024 presidential election, of those who have announced they will stand, potentially creating a rematch of the 2020 White House contest.

Biden's approval rating fell below 40 percent on July 1, making him more unpopular than Trump was during the same stage in his presidency.

Trump is facing criminal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents and claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. He has denied any wrongdoing and has pled not guilty to all counts.