The 2016 presidential election is unprecedented for a number of reasons. Republicans have a candidate who single-handedly, and without bloodshed or violence, hijacked the Party of Lincoln. A self-absorbed, self-described billionaire and political novice is carrying the GOP’s hope of regaining the White House.
For Democrats, we have a political candidate who has been around so long, and accumulated so much baggage, that her standard mode of transportation is not a limo but a semi. And oh, the Democratic presidential nominee is trying to become the nation’s first female Commander in Chief.
As unusual as this pair of presidential candidates may be, there is one singular fact that is truly unparalleled – with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, we have two of the most disliked presidential candidates in U.S. history competing against one another!
While it not unusual for a candidate to be disliked by members of the opposing party, both Trump and Clinton are hated by a significant number of voters from within their own party!
According to RealClearPolitics averages, Trump has an unfavorable rating of 65 percent. Clinton has 55 percent.
It seems with each passing day, Republicans are running away from Trump like rats on the sinking Titanic. Not only are some refusing to endorse their party’s nominee or give him their vote, an ever-increasing number are publically stating they will vote for Clinton.
On the Democratic side, for many disappointed voters who supported the Bernie Sanders revolution, the game plan is to sit out the election or vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. Some diehard Bernie or Bust enthusiasts have even vowed to vote for Donald Trump.
With such a bizarre election cycle, the White House may go to the candidate with the least number of defections from within their own party!
The election of 2016 is shaping up as a field day for presidential historians.
Photo | abcnews.go.com
Frank Little says
I think you will see a lot of Clinton Republicans this time around. More than Trump Democrats.
John DeProspo says
I tend to agree. Those Bernie or Bust people were never really Democrats anyway.