Republicans Negative on Adulterous Candidates

In a recent poll, fully 57% of Republicans said they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who “had an extramarital affair in the past.” By contrast, 42% of Democrats and 44% of independents shared this view. The gap was much wider in 2007 when 62% of Republicans and only 25% of Democrats said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who had had an extramarital affair. The public continues to be far more forgiving of a past divorce — only 11% say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who has been divorced while most (85%) say this wouldn’t matter to them. Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to view a candidate’s divorce negatively (16% vs. 7%). Read More