Updated: Oct 14, 2020
Study: Will Your Presidential Vote Depend on the Impact on Your Finances?
A study commissioned by MyBankTracker looks at whether Americans will vote based on the presidential candidate's expected impact on their personal finances.
Contents
The 2020 presidential election is weighing heavily on the minds of Americans, especially during a time when personal finances are strained from the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, we wanted to see whether presidential votes would depend significantly on a candidate’s agenda to improve the finances of Americans.
According to a recent MyBankTracker survey, the majority of Americans surveyed (58.49%) will not cast their presidential vote based on the candidate’s expected impact on their finances.
See more highlights and data tables below for the following questions in the survey:
- Will your presidential vote depend on the candidate’s impact on your finances?
- Which financial factor, if any, will have the biggest influence on your presidential vote?
- Before the pandemic, what happened to your finances under President Trump’s administration?
- Which 2020 presidential candidate do you believe will cause you the least financial anxiety?
Key Highlights
- Nearly 60% say their presidential vote won’t depend on the candidate’s impact on their finances (58.59%)
- Most women (63.44%) are not considering the impact on their finances
- The majority of men (54.47%) are not considering it
- About 50% say their finances didn’t change significantly under President Trump before the start of the pandemic (49.8%)
- More than 25% say finances won’t impact their vote at all, when asked which financial factor, if any, has the biggest influence on their presidential vote (25.4%)
Democrats
- 72.6% of Democratic respondents said their presidential vote is not dependent on the candidate’s impact on their finances
- The financial factor with the biggest influence on their presidential vote is income inequality (32.3% of Democratic respondents)
- Before the pandemic, 66.6% of Democratic respondents reported no significant change in their finances under President Trump’s administration while 23.6% of Democratic respondents said their finances worsened
Republicans
- 58.5% of Republican respondents said their presidential vote is dependent on the candidate’s impact on their finances
- The financial factor with the biggest influence on their presidential vote is economic growth (36.7% of Republican respondents) followed by taxes (20.2% of Republican respondents)
- Before the pandemic, 70.9% of Republican respondents reported improvement in their finances under President Trump’s administration while only 3.16% of Republican respondents said their finances worsened
Independent
- 55.5% of Independent respondents said their presidential vote is not dependent on the candidate’s impact on their finances
- The financial factor with the biggest influence on their presidential vote is economic growth (21.4% of Independent respondents) followed by taxes (18% of Independent respondents)
- Before the pandemic, 49.3% of Independent respondents reported no significant change in their finances under President Trump’s administration while 34.6% of Independent respondents said their finances improved
Other
- 69.8% of other respondents said their presidential vote is not dependent on the candidate’s impact on their finances
- “Other” financial factors were the biggest influence on their presidential vote (35.4% of other respondents that will vote based on impact to their finances)
- Before the pandemic, 62.4% of other respondents reported no significant change in their finances under President Trump’s administration while 21.4% of other respondents said their finances improved
Will your presidential vote depend on the candidate’s impact on your finances?
| Total | Women | Men | Democrat | Independent | Republican | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 41.41% | 36.56% | 45.53% | 27.4% | 44.5% | 58.5% | 30.2% |
| No | 58.59% | 63.44% | 54.47% | 72.6% | 55.5% | 41.5% | 69.8% |
Which financial factor, if any, will have the biggest influence on your presidential vote?
| Total | Democrat | Independent | Republican | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | 13.6% | 6.6% | 18.0% | 20.2% | 9.4% |
| Economic growth | 20.5% | 9.2% | 21.4% | 36.7% | 11.5% |
| Financial regulation | 2.4% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 1.7% |
| The job market | 5.8% | 4.5% | 6.6% | 6.7% | 5.4% |
| Income inequality | 12.5% | 32.3% | 7.5% | 1.2% | 8.8% |
| Other | 19.8% | 13.7% | 16.2% | 15.1% | 35.4% |
| Finances aren't influencing my vote | 25.4% | 31.2% | 27.3% | 17.7% | 27.7% |
Before the pandemic, what happened to your finances under President Trump’s administration?
| Total | Democrat | Independent | Republican | Other | Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My finances improved | 36.1% | 9.8% | 34.6% | 70.9% | 21.4% | 28.02% | 44.32% |
| My finances worsened | 14.1% | 23.6% | 16.0% | 3.1% | 16.3% | 16.33% | 11.44% |
| My finances didn't change significantly | 49.8% | 66.6% | 49.3% | 26.0% | 62.4% | 55.65% | 44.24% |
Which 2020 presidential candidate do you believe will cause you the least financial anxiety?
| Total | Democrat | Independent | Republican | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden (Democrat) | 31.8% | 81.1% | 31.8% | 4.1% | 12.7% |
| Howie Hawkins (Green Party) | 1.3% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 2.1% |
| Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian) | 3.9% | 1.4% | 8.2% | 1.5% | 6.6% |
| Donald Trump (Republican) | 33.9% | 4.3% | 23.6% | 82.0% | 12.5% |
| I would rather not say | 29.0% | 12.4% | 34.8% | 11.5% | 66.1% |
Which 2020 presidential candidate do you believe will cause you the least financial anxiety? (cont'd)
| 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden (Democrat) | 30.73% | 33.51% | 34.73% | 25.24% | 32.22% | 35.19% | 30.38% | 34.00% |
| Howie Hawkins (Green Party) | 3.41% | 1.63% | 1.04% | 1.21% | 0.42% | 0.89% | 1.45% | 0.95% |
| Jo Jorgensen (Libertarian) | 3.90% | 7.63% | 5.48% | 4.13% | 2.09% | 1.11% | 4.67% | 2.94% |
| Donald Trump (Republican) | 28.29% | 24.80% | 28.98% | 41.50% | 40.17% | 38.31% | 39.89% | 28.49% |
| I would rather not say | 33.66% | 32.43% | 29.77% | 27.91% | 25.10% | 24.50% | 23.61% | 33.62% |
Contact press@mybanktracker.com for access to download full data points that may be of interest such as breakdowns by specific state, age group or gender.
Methodology
The study was conducted through Google Survey on behalf of MyBankTracker from September 29, 2020 to October 2, 2020 with 2294 respondents in the United States of ages 18 and up with a standard deviation of +/- 4.7%.
Data were analyzed only for completed responses for all questions.
Simon Zhen is the chief research analyst for MyBankTracker and an expert on consumer banking products, bank innovations, and financial technology.
Simon has contributed and/or been quoted in major publications and outlets including Consumer Reports, American Banker, Yahoo Finance, U.S. News - World Report, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Lifehacker, and AOL.com. Education: Education: B.S. in Health Sciences from Stony Brook University.
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