Who do Romney and Obama appeal most to?

[DevotedDemocrat]

What are the general demographics for Romney supporters--and what are the general demographics for Obama supporters?

And how will the choice of Ryan possibly effect these demographics?

[Reaganfan]

Romney: White men, typically 30+ years old
Obama: Blacks, Women younger than 30 years old

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Romney: Old White People.  Middle aged unatractive white women
Obama: Anyone under 30, women, minorities, comedians, actors, chocolate

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Romney: White, upper-middle class married men who frequently attend church
Obama: Black, lower class single women who frequently attend church (religious blacks are even more Democratic than non-religious)

[cavalcade]

Well, the standard Dem/Rep demographics apply but some groups where they are particularly strong for a member of their party are

Obama: the "library card coalition"- professors, students, and minorities

Romney: Mormons and current/aspiring corporate executives

[All Along The Watchtower]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29#Voter_base

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29#Voter_base

[All Along The Watchtower]

Serious answer:

Obama: Middle-to-upper-class, college-educated urban/suburban professionals, of a wide variety of races, ethnicities, religions (or none at all..), marital statuses, sexual orientations, often at the post-graduate range, more likely to be women than men, and less likely to have children at home, or children at all. Typically a bit younger and more "cosmopolitan" than the Romney supporters.

Romney: Middle-to-upper-class, suburban/exurban businesspeople/professionals (particularly those who are self-employed), significantly whiter and more religious (Christian or Mormon) than the population as a whole, more likely to be married, higher-income (but not higher-educated) than the Obama core, more likely to be men than women, and more likely to have children at home. Typically a bit older and more "Middle America" than the Obama supporters.

Neither of them really appeal to the poor lower classes, who tend to abstain from politics, but Obama probably appeals to them more than Romney.

[krazen1211]

Obama appeals to those who want the government to give them someone else's money.


Romney appeals to those who want the government to take less of their money.

[You kip if you want to...]

Romney: Rich white men. Racists and bigots. Southerners and rural folk.
Obama: Minorities. Young people. Women.

[morgieb]

Romney: Upper-middle class white males, typically older.
Obama: Minorities and young people.

[5280]

Romney: Rich white men. Racists and bigots. Southerners and rural folk.
Obama: Minorities. Young people. Women.

That's so untrue, there are racist bigots in the Democrat party as well.  Have you heard of a tolerant liberal who isn't tolerant of people with different political views?  There are Republicans in urban areas as well.

[Miles]

Romney: Upper-middle class white males, typically older.
Obama: Minorities and young people.

This is the correct answer.

[fezzyfestoon]

Romney: a good amount of ignorant white elderly
Obama: a good amount of ignorant young minorities

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Romney: Rich people who cheat on their taxes, Mormons
Obama: Blacks, immigrants

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Obama appeals to those who want the government to give them someone else's money.


Romney appeals to those who want the government to take less of their money.

Romney: Rich white men. Racists and bigots. Southerners and rural folk.
Obama: Minorities. Young people. Women.

You know, this thread didn't start out hackish. Jerks.

[pbrower2a]

Serious answer:

Obama: Middle-to-upper-class, college-educated urban/suburban professionals, of a wide variety of races, ethnicities, religions (or none at all..), marital statuses, sexual orientations, often at the post-graduate range, more likely to be women than men, and less likely to have children at home, or children at all. Typically a bit younger and more "cosmopolitan" than the Romney supporters.

Romney: Middle-to-upper-class, suburban/exurban businesspeople/professionals (particularly those who are self-employed), significantly whiter and more religious (Christian or Mormon) than the population as a whole, more likely to be married, higher-income (but not higher-educated) than the Obama core, more likely to be men than women, and more likely to have children at home. Typically a bit older and more "Middle America" than the Obama supporters.

Neither of them really appeal to the poor lower classes, who tend to abstain from politics, but Obama probably appeals to them more than Romney.

Poor whites now largely go GOP; poor non-whites go largely Democratic. No Presidential election has ever shown less correlation between economic position and partisan voting than the 2008 election. Culture mattered far more. If you were a non-Christian or a secularist and had high social status as occupational category and income suggested you were more likely to vote for Barack Obama. If you lived in one of the poorest white communities in Appalachia you almost certainly voted for John McCain. Poor whites from the Deep South and the Mountain South used to vote reliably Democratic (to be sure the Democratic Party in such places was often a reactionary political party) to the extent that Dwight Eisenhower's losses were entirely in the South in the 1950s. He won nearly 54% of the vote in Minnesota and nearly 60% of the vote in Massachusetts, the only states (respectively) that would go for Mondale in 1984 and McGovern in 1972. 

But try to overlay the similar Eisenhower victories upon those of Barack Obama. Had it not been for North Carolina, Barack Obama would have won no electoral votes  that Dwight Eisenhower lost in either 1952 and 1956. 

[anvi]

Obama appeals to those who want the government to give them someone else's money.

Romney appeals to those who want the government to take less of their money.

You know what?  I'd be willing to submit that this is true.  I'd only add that, if the former never happens, you can't have a state.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Here is a serious one (without bashing the other side):

Obama: suburban women ("soccer moms"), blacks, Latinos, young voters (under 50), Jewish voters, hard-core union members, wealthy Northeast/Upper Midwest/West Coast suburbanites, people making over $1M or under $20K a year, high amd low levels of education, moderates, infrequent church attendants

Romney: wealthy Southern/Plains State suburbanites, married women, religious conservatives, white Protestants, Mormons, people making $100K to $1M a year, moderate levels of education, weekly church attendants, gun owners

[All Along The Watchtower]

Serious answer:

Obama: Middle-to-upper-class, college-educated urban/suburban professionals, of a wide variety of races, ethnicities, religions (or none at all..), marital statuses, sexual orientations, often at the post-graduate range, more likely to be women than men, and less likely to have children at home, or children at all. Typically a bit younger and more "cosmopolitan" than the Romney supporters.

Romney: Middle-to-upper-class, suburban/exurban businesspeople/professionals (particularly those who are self-employed), significantly whiter and more religious (Christian or Mormon) than the population as a whole, more likely to be married, higher-income (but not higher-educated) than the Obama core, more likely to be men than women, and more likely to have children at home. Typically a bit older and more "Middle America" than the Obama supporters.

Neither of them really appeal to the poor lower classes, who tend to abstain from politics, but Obama probably appeals to them more than Romney.

Poor whites now largely go GOP; poor non-whites go largely Democratic. No Presidential election has ever shown less correlation between economic position and partisan voting than the 2008 election. Culture mattered far more. If you were a non-Christian or a secularist and had high social status as occupational category and income suggested you were more likely to vote for Barack Obama. If you lived in one of the poorest white communities in Appalachia you almost certainly voted for John McCain. Poor whites from the Deep South and the Mountain South used to vote reliably Democratic (to be sure the Democratic Party in such places was often a reactionary political party) to the extent that Dwight Eisenhower's losses were entirely in the South in the 1950s. He won nearly 54% of the vote in Minnesota and nearly 60% of the vote in Massachusetts, the only states (respectively) that would go for Mondale in 1984 and McGovern in 1972.  

But try to overlay the similar Eisenhower victories upon those of Barack Obama. Had it not been for North Carolina, Barack Obama would have won no electoral votes  that Dwight Eisenhower lost in either 1952 and 1956.  

Poor rural whites go largely Republican (if they vote at all).

And to be fair, John McCain was an unusually strong candidate among poor whites, and Obama just doesn't do well with working-poor/working-class whites.