Who are Trump voters? A new portrait emerges

A new Gallup survey, based on interviews of some 87,000 Americans, provides the most detailed portrait to date of Donald Trump’s voters – and complicates the notion that a class of jilted workers has fueled his rise.

“The results show mixed evidence that economic distress has motivated Trump support,” writes author Jonathan Rothwell, a senior economist at Gallup. “His supporters are less educated and more likely to work in blue collar occupations,” but higher household incomes also tended to predict support for the candidate. That held true among both white Republicans as well as among a wider swath of the public.

But under a more expansive notion of prosperity – one that takes into account the health of one’s community – Trumpism may indeed be the cry of an ailing America, one detached from the dynamism and diversity of urban areas where older generations are more likely to watch their sons and daughters flourish. And the survey’s findings may indicate that even if Mr. Trump loses the election in November, the politics of malaise may survive him....
http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0813/Who-are-Trump-voters-A-new-portrait-emerges