Legion Troll
A fine upstanding poster
Tuesday was pretty good for Trump.
He swept five states and edged closer to the magic number of 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican presidential nomination.
His winning numbers were impressive, ranging from 54 percent of the GOP primary vote in Maryland to 64 percent in Rhode Island.
It sure looks like he’s no longer a plurality candidate winning split fields by less than majority vote.
That said, the numbers aren’t all great for the Trump campaign.
Contained within exit polls and demographic data are hints that his prospective takeover of the GOP isn’t going smoothly. Trump said that he’s a “uniter.”
Here are three data points that indicate he’s something else.
TURNOUT. Yes, Trump won big on Tuesday. But he did so with a relatively small GOP turnout.
In the six northeastern states that voted during the last eight days, the Republicans who bothered to cast ballots averaged only 9.9 percent of the voting-eligible population, according to data cited by FiveThirtyEight. By contrast, in the New Hampshire primary Republican turnout was 27.8 percent of the voting-eligible. In Wisconsin the comparable number was 25.6.
DIVISION. It’s just one state, but Pennsylvania produced an exit poll result that might give GOP consultants the night sweats.
Sixty-nine percent of Democrats said that the competitive primary on their side was “energizing” their party, according to data. Republicans did not make a similar judgment. Fifty-eight percent of GOP voters said the primary process was “dividing” their side.
Pennsylvania can be a big battleground state in general elections. Just in case you’re wondering.
ENDORSEMENTS. Yes, it’s a common rejoinder: Who cares what some unknown legislators from far corners of the country chooses to do with their presidential votes?
But the fact is that political endorsements are not advertisements, like athletes endorsing shoes they don’t wear. They’re usually signals to other lawmakers, lobbyists, donors, and the party apparatus at large about the nature and course of the campaign.
Thus they’re symbols of acceptance. And the symbol for Trump is flashing red. He’s been endorsed by a grand total of three governors, and one United States senator.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2016/0427/Mind-the-gap-Three-numbers-that-should-worry-Trump