Exit Polling on the “Republican Extinction”

Erick Erickson’s letter today describes the election as “Republican Extinction.” It’s more like “Strong Messaging from the People.” Anyway, Erickson ran the exit polling through Claude, and the following analysis came out, but Claude relies on mainstream media, which isn’t exactly trustworthy. It also relied heavily on the absolutely awful BBC. However, it is what people said.  So, there’s that. All these issues can be addressed, and that is good news. In some cases, media propaganda causes the problem, but that can be addressed also.

No matter what, Americans don’t give up – ever – not where freedom is concerned. Think of all the people who gave their lives for what this country stands for. Never surrender to socialists and communists. Let’s address what we can, and put the rest aside. Immigrants can be won over.

1. Cost of living and inflation. 79% say inflation caused severe or moderate hardship for their family. 62% blame higher prices more on Trump’s policies than on factors beyond his control. 65% say his policies worsened the economy, against 27% who say they improved it. 75% rate the economy poor, 44% say they are worse off than two years ago, and 39% named the economy the top issue.
2. Tariffs. 64% say tariffs hurt the national economy (D 78–19), and 63% say they hurt their local economy (D 79–18). Only 15% say tariffs helped their area. That is the most lopsided policy verdict in the poll, and voters judged it by their own towns.
3. Government corruption. 90% called it a crucial or major factor. About half called it “crucial,” a larger share than for immigration, Iran, or AI, and about 6 in 10 say Trump puts his own interests first. About 4 in 10 voters who called it crucial still went Republican.
4. The Iran war and fuel costs. 63% say the attack was the wrong decision, against 37% who say it was right. 74% called the war a crucial or major factor, though only about a third called it crucial. 59% are “very concerned” about gas and diesel prices. Gas averaged $4.15, about $1.11 above a year earlier, and diesel averaged $6.29. About a quarter of Republicans say the war was wrong.
5. Democracy and checks on Trump. 32% named the state of democracy the top issue, and about 8 in 10 of them voted Democratic. About 7 in 10 say Congress isn’t checking the President enough, including about 4 in 10 Republicans.43% voted to oppose Trump and 16% to support him. His approval stood at 38%.
6. Immigration (the GOP’s floor). 14% named it the top issue. Republicans kept a small edge on the issue, and it mattered more to Republican voters. Even so, 57% say enforcement has gone too far.
7. Healthcare. Democrats held a wide advantage here, but few voters named it the top issue.
8. AI and data centers. It ranked below corruption and cost of living, and voters split on which party handles AI better. 61% opposed new data centers near them.

Context: 38% of voters were angry and 37% dissatisfied. By group:

• Women went D 58–40.
• Voters under 45 went roughly two-thirds D.
• Hispanic voters went D 62–35.
• College graduates went D 62–36.
• Non-college voters went R only 51–47.
• White voters went R only 51–48.

[That probably means a lot of people stayed home.]

Just under half view Democrats favorably, against about 4 in 10 for the GOP.

People are talking about starting a new party. Forget it. It never works. We have to improve the one we have. The Right needs a vehicle to get the truth out. Much of this problem stems from media propaganda.

Image: AI Grok