Greater Similarities Among Twitter Followers of Trump and Clinton According to New Research Conducted by Database Marketing Company Stirista

  • Followers of Trump and Clinton share similar demographics -- Trump followers are less extreme than may be expected on gay marriage, gun control and abortion but against easing immigration;
  • Neither Trump nor Clinton’s followers widely support Affordable Care Act;
  • Both candidates share same proportion of new and infrequent voters, countering belief that Trump is bringing in new voters.

SAN ANTONIO--()--Stirista, the database marketing company, launched a first-ever report showing that the Twitter followers of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton turn out to be more similar than different, with 1/3 of Trump followers being registered Democrats, and having less extreme views than commonly perceived on social issues such as gay marriage, gun control and abortion. While at the same time those same Trump followers hold strong views on immigration (90% against loosening immigration restrictions) and the Affordable Care Act (neither Trump’s or Clinton’s followers are enthusiastic supporters -- 48% support it while only 13% of Trump’s do).

“Our research challenges some of what we thought we understood about supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, showing greater similarities and voting habits among followers of the two candidates and a new understanding of their followers’ views on social issues,” says Ajay Gupta, CEO, Stirista. “Our new political database offers vast opportunities to understand candidates’ followers through matching algorithms, which will help candidates, political analysts and marketers further explore what makes the electorate tick.”

Other than gender and race, Trump and Clinton supporters share remarkably similar demographics. The age spread of Trump and Clinton followers is not significantly different; about 60% of the followers of both candidates are aged 45+. Trump and Clinton followers represent similar ranges across income levels. Trump followers came in at 56% male and 44% female with Clinton’s being 43% male and 57% female. Clinton followers are more racially diverse -- Trump followers are 76% White, 13% African American, and 10% Hispanic; Clinton’s are 67% White, 19% African-American and 13% Hispanic.

Donald Trump’s followers (@realDonaldTrump) revealed a wider political base than might be expected, with less than half being registered Republicans. While 43.5% of Trump followers were Republicans, Democrats comprised 31.1%, and 23% were unaffiliated. Hillary Clinton’s followers (@HillaryClinton) represent a more predictable mix of political affiliations, with 61% Democrats, 20% Republican and 19% unaffiliated.

A recap of the findings includes:

  • About a third (32%) of Trump’s followers are pro-choice; 66% of Clinton’s are.
  • 62% of Clinton’s followers support gay marriage; 26% of Trump’s followers do.
  • 61% of Clinton’s followers support gun control; 21% of Trump’s followers do.
  • Only 48% of Clinton followers support the Affordable Care Act. Of Trump followers: 13%
  • Overwhelmingly, 90% of Trump’s followers are against easing immigration restrictions, whereas only 28% of Clinton’s feel the same way.
  • Looking at data from the Federal Election Commission on the size of political donations among Americans, Trump followers comprise a larger proportion of donors who typically contribute over $1001 to political campaigns—at 40%, compared to Clinton’s 35%.
  • In terms of new voters:
    • Among new voters, Clinton has a 50/50 split among females and males, while Trump has a 38/62 split.
    • Among new voters age 18-34, Clinton has a 51/49 split among females and males, while Trump has a 34/66 split.
    • Among new voters, Clinton has a 46/12 split among Democrats and Republicans with the remainder being unaffiliated, while Trump has a 32/20 split among Democrats and Republicans with the remainder being unaffiliated.
    • Among new voters age 18-34, Clinton has a 44/11 split among Democrats and Republicans with the remainder being unaffiliated, while Trump has a 32/19 split among Democrats and Republicans with the remainder being unaffiliated.

About the Stirista Twitter Research

Stirista, the database marketing company specializing in B2B and B2C data as well as email marketing and display advertising, pulled the follower handles in late April, and matched them to its national database, looking for email addresses, and then matched those emails to the Stirista Political database of information about U.S. voters. Of Trump’s 8.1 million Twitter followers, Stirista identified 660,000 email addresses and matched those to 97,000 names on the voter database. In Clinton’s case, 6.2 million Twitter followers generated 600,000 emails and matched to 100,000 voter names. Thus, in both cases, the large volumes ensure a high level of confidence that the samples are statistically significant.

To assess the extent to which Twitter followers are actually political supporters, Stirista sent an email survey to a sampling of Trump and Clinton followers during the week of May 16, 2016. Among the Trump followers who responded, 71% said they supported Trump. Among the Clinton responders, 67% said they supported Clinton.

About the Stirista Political Database

The Stirista Political database of voter information (www.stirista.com/political) contains over 154 million names, sourced primarily from government records, and updated monthly and can be used for fundraising, and political campaign promotion, voting behavior analysis and research. The database contains a trove of useful data elements, including demographics, geographics, party affiliation and stance on various current issues like gay marriage, abortion, raising taxes, gun control, tort reform, Iraq war and nominating of judges. Additional demographics available include veteran’s status, gun ownership, gun carry permit holder and church going habits. Other than the topics discussed in this report, the database also covers U.S. Senate and Congressional district, and donations to conservative or more progressive causes. Party affiliation is sourced primarily (75%) from state records; however, in 12 states the data is unavailable directly, and thus inferred from statistical models. For more information on Stirista, contact: info@stirista.com, 1.866.321.8505.

Contacts

for Stirista
Chris Allieri, 646-245-8937
chris@mulberryandastor.com

Contacts

for Stirista
Chris Allieri, 646-245-8937
chris@mulberryandastor.com