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‘Over 100 days to go but Americans sick of polls already’

In a Pew survey of 4,602 American adults, 59 per cent said they feel “worn out by so much coverage of the campaign and candidates.” 

Majorities of every demographic group surveyed by Pew are already exhausted by the election -- 54 per cent of seniors and 67 per cent of millennials. Sixty-two per cent of women and 56 per cent of men. Sixty-two per cent of whites and 54 per cent of non-whites. Nearly identical proportions of Republicans (54 per cent) and Democrats (55 per cent).

Americans are not exhausted because they do not care or are not interested in fact, it could be because they care about this election too much, the Washington Post reported.

Pew’s polling shows that record-high numbers of Americans (80 per cent) say they have thought about this election “a lot” fewer than half of Americans said the same about the 2000 election, for instance.

A record-high percentage (74 per cent) of Americans say that when it comes to making progress on the important issues facing the country, it really matters who wins this election.

Again, back in 2000, just 50 per cent thought that.Pew’s polling also shows that 77 per cent of Americans say this election is “interesting.” Four years ago, only 39 per cent of Americans said the same about the polls scheduled for November 8.

Much of this interest probably stems from the decidedly unconventional campaign run by real estate billionaire Donald Trump, who secured the Republican nomination by breaking pretty much every political rule.

Trump had more votes cast against him (over 15 million) in the primaries than for him (closer to 13 million) this year. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton’s victory surprised few, considering the huge fund-raising lead the former secretary of state has enjoyed practically since Day 1.

But with neither the parties nor Congress interested in changing primary rules, it is likely that election fatigue will be there for the foreseeable future, the paper said. 
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