Arab America Poll Shows Growing Support for Clinton, Consistent Support for Stein
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
For the last three months, Arab America has been featuring a presidential poll on the front page of the website, as well as our social media platforms. If you have not already, we urge all readers to vote in the poll today. With less than a week until Election Day, Arab America’s poll continues to show a divided community.
Out of 1,504 votes, no candidate managed to earn a simple majority, or surpass 50 percent, between August 8 and November 2. However, Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton has earned the most support overall, ending at 44 percent.
After the first month, Arab America was surprised to see the overwhelming favorability of Green Party nominee Jill Stein. At her best, Stein had garnered 25 percent of the vote, which is a stark contrast to nation-wide polls that show the candidate with 2-3 percent overall. Stein has made many statements on giving rights to Palestinians and putting an end to the exorbitant U.S. aid packages to Israel, making her popular among hopeful Arab Americans.
Poll as of AUGUST 22
The other third-party candidate, Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, also had higher-than-average support among Arab America site visitors. Nationally, Johnson had managed to gain up to 13 percent support during the election cycle, but that number has plummeted in the last month to a dismal 3 percent. This drop is likely caused by Johnson’s two famous political gaffes in which he did know what “Aleppo” was, or name a single world leader. The Arab America poll shows the Libertarian candidate still has 7 percent support, which is a drop from his initial 10 percent support in August.
The only candidates who have seen growth on the Arab America poll were Republican Party nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
After the first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump on September 26, Clinton got a major bump in the poll. For the first time, Clinton made her way out of the 30s range and into the 40s. Since late September, she has climbed from 40 percent to 44 percent support from site visitors.
Trump was also able to gain support, but not enough to reach Clinton. In August, Trump only had 12 percent of the vote from Arab America site visitors. The candidate has steadily grown to 18 percent, where he remains today.
Poll as of NOVEMBER 2
Votes going to Trump and Clinton were likely from new site visitors, as well as undecided voters who may have changed their votes. In August, undecided voters made up for 12 percent of the poll; today, they are only 8 percent.
During this highly contentious election cycle, Arab Americans have been more active than ever in mobilizing voters, sharing information, and defending their heritage from candidates’ attacks. The lack of majority support for any one candidate is indicative of the dissatisfaction all Americans are feeling towards the nominees in this election cycle. Polls like the one seen on Arab America’s website exemplify the demand for change that Americans are calling for everywhere.