On Friday, Gallup released findings of its latest poll gauging how willing Americans are to vote for presidential candidates with different backgrounds than themselves.
The poll, taken from January 2 through January 22, measured Americans’ willingness to vote for candidates based on such factors as their gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, age and criminal record.
Support is widespread for a candidate who is a woman, Hispanic, Black, Catholic or Jewish, with about nine in 10 Americans being willing to support a candidate with those traits. Support for a Jewish candidate, though, has gone down slightly since 2020, hitting 88%.
Support is lower, although still at a majority, for a gay or lesbian candidate, a candidate over 70 years old, a Muslim or an atheist — coming in at between 60% to 74%.
The poll also shows that less than half of Americans would vote for a socialist nominated by their party.
Another finding from the poll indicates that less than a third of Americans would vote for a candidate over 80 or a candidate who is charged or convicted of a felony.
These findings are particularly pertinent for the upcoming presidential election, given that if President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were to emerge as the two nominees this November, the two most objectionable traits would be on the ballot: someone in their 80s and someone charged with a felony, according to Gallup News.
Visit Gallup’s website for its analysis of the poll.