By LINLEY SANDERS, HUMERA LODHI and ANNIE NG
WASHINGTON (AP) — The lead-up to the 2024 election was all about cat homeowners. However ultimately, the canine had their day.
President-elect Donald Trump received barely greater than half of voters who personal both cats or canine, with an enormous help from canine homeowners, in response to AP VoteCast, a survey of greater than 120,000 voters. Canine homeowners had been more likely to assist the Republican over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Cat homeowners had been break up between the 2 candidates.
About two-thirds of voters mentioned they personal a canine or cat, however pet homeowners don’t often get a lot consideration from politicians. This yr, nonetheless, previous feedback by Trump’s working mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, about “childless cat women” briefly grew to become a marketing campaign situation — and Taylor Swift signed her Instagram endorsement of Harris in September as “Taylor Swift Childless Cat Woman.”
Harris did find yourself decisively profitable assist from ladies who owned a cat however not a canine. Nonetheless, these voters had been a comparatively small slice of the citizens, and pet homeowners as a complete didn’t appear to carry Vance’s remarks in opposition to the GOP ticket.
Harris discovered success with feminine cat homeowners, however not males who owned cats
Childless or not, ladies who solely owned a cat had been extra more likely to assist Harris than had been canine homeowners, or voters who had a cat and a canine. About 6 in 10 ladies who owned a cat however not a canine supported Harris, in response to AP VoteCast. She did equally effectively amongst ladies who didn’t personal both form of pet.
Her success with ladies who had been cat homeowners didn’t translate to males. Trump narrowly received the backing of males who solely owned cats; barely greater than half of those voters supported him.
It’s unimaginable to know the way a lot Vance’s feedback performed into Harris’ success with ladies who solely had cats, however most of these voters had a “very” or “considerably” unfavorable opinion of Vance. They had been extra more likely to dislike than ladies who solely personal canine or ladies who’ve cats and canine. They had been additionally extra possible than feminine voters general to have a damaging view of Trump and the Republican Get together.
A easy rationalization for the divide is that ladies who had been cat homeowners had been by no means very inclined to vote for Trump, even earlier than Vance’s feedback resurfaced. In accordance with AP VoteCast, solely about 4 in 10 feminine voters who solely owned a cat had been Republicans.
Extra voters are canine homeowners, and Trump did higher with them
If something, the results of the 2024 election means that Democrats might have some work to do with canine homeowners. Voters who owned a canine, together with those that owned a cat as effectively, had been extra more likely to assist Trump, and so they made up a much bigger share of the citizens.
Cat homeowners who didn’t even have a canine made up solely about 15% of voters. About 2 in 10 voters, against this, owned each sorts of pets, and about 3 in 10 solely had a canine, which meant that canine homeowners had been a way more influential voting bloc. Trump received about 6 in 10 males voters who owned a canine however no cat, and about half of feminine voters on this group.
Whereas Trump’s marketing campaign didn’t make the identical appeals to canine homeowners that Harris’ marketing campaign did with cat homeowners, Trump did falsely declare that immigrants in Ohio had been stealing and consuming canine and cats. However, as with the Vance remarks, there isn’t a proof that Trump’s statements in the end influenced pet homeowners’ selections. In actual fact, get together loyalty was possible a significant factor — about 6 in 10 males who solely personal canine recognized as Republicans, as did about half of girls who’re canine homeowners.
So Democrats seeking to make inroads with canine lovers might not have a straightforward repair forward. But it surely’s additionally true that neither Trump nor Harris personal pets, which meant no canine accompanied the presidential candidates on the marketing campaign. It’s doable that future campaigns may benefit from a bit of extra bark.
AP VoteCast is a survey of the American citizens carried out by NORC on the College of Chicago for Fox Information, PBS NewsHour, The Wall Avenue Journal and The Related Press. The survey of greater than 120,000 voters was carried out for eight days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews had been carried out in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random pattern of registered voters drawn from state voter recordsdata; self-identified registered voters utilizing NORC’s chance primarily based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be consultant of the U.S. inhabitants; and self-identified registered voters chosen from nonprobability on-line panels. The margin of sampling error for voters general is estimated to be plus or minus 0.4 share factors. Discover extra particulars about APVoteCast’s methodology at https://www.ap.org/elections/our-role/ap-votecast/
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