The Party Politics of Dating

Anna Brown at Pew:

At a time when political polarization and antipathy in the United States remains at modern historic highs, many single people looking for a relationship wouldn’t want to date someone who voted for the candidate of the opposing party in the 2016 presidential election, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Democrats are especially wary of dating a Trump voter.

Among Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party who are single but looking for a relationship, about seven-in-ten (71%) say they probably or definitely would not consider being in a committed relationship with someone who voted for Donald Trump. In fact, 45% say they definitely would not consider seriously dating a Trump voter.

Meanwhile, roughly half of single-and-looking Republicans and Republican leaners (47%) say they probably or definitely wouldn’t be in a relationship with someone who voted for Hillary Clinton, including 19% who say they definitely would not consider it. There is also some resistance toward dating someone who is a member of the opposite party – but less so than there is about dating a person who voted for the other party’s 2016 presidential candidate. Roughly four-in-ten single-and-looking Democrats (43%) say they would not consider being in a relationship with a Republican. About a quarter of Republicans who are looking for a relationship (24%) say they probably or definitely would not seriously date a Democrat.