… According to the Edison Research preliminary exit polls, independents were without question the most critical voter group in this election. In fact, they made up 31 percent of the electorate, the largest percentage going back as far as the 1980 election.
While the exit polls showed independents growing, it also found Democrats at 33 percent, their lowest party ID over the same time period. Meanwhile, Republicans garnered 36 percent.
Since 1986, the party not holding the presidency has won independents in every election except 2002, when George W. Bush enjoyed an extraordinarily high job approval in the post-9/11 political environment. But not this year. CONTINUED
David Winston (Winston Group), Roll Call
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