As the field of presidential candidates among major parties has dwindled from 23 to 3 over the past 9 months, the apparent nominees have become clear, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately for Utah, its preferred nominees, Ted Cruz among Republicans and Bernie Sanders among Democrats, do not appear to be likely candidates (although who can say how this will all really play out in the end).
As part of a small survey following up on some questions regarding Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project, we asked Utahns some questions about their feelings toward Clinton and Trump. (Full disclosure: this is a small sample size of 68 respondents from randomly selected Utah registered voters who opted into Utah Foundation’s survey panel.)
Similar to national data, both of the likely nominees are quite unpopular. More than three of five respondents hold negative views of Clinton and almost four of five respondents hold negative views of Trump.
Figure 1: Positive or Negative Feelings
Respondents were also asked to evaluate the likelihood of each candidate becoming president. It turns out that respondents were pretty split on the potential likelihood of Trump becoming president, but more Utahns think Clinton holds a greater chance.
Figure 2: Likelihood of Becoming President
While neither of these results might be surprising, the really fun part of this blog is being able to explore the data. Below are responses plotted by favorability and likelihood of becoming president. And the best part: hover over the dots to see respondents’ corresponding rating of the other candidate and respondents’ comments which are detailed below the graph.
Figure 3: Matrix and Comments
In conclusion, Utahns are not happy with their choices, but hold slightly more favorable views of Clinton and think that she has the edge in the election. While the sample size was small, the data supports national trends.
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