When asked about what qualities matter most, about four in 10 people picked the ability to bring about change, and Mr. Trump won more than 80% of their votes. Mrs. Clinton was heavily favored by voters who put more value on someone who “cares about people like me,” has good judgment and, especially, has the right experience.
Long before election night, Trump’s data operatives, in particular those contracted from Cambridge Analytica, understood that his voters were different. And to better understand how they differed from Ryan-style Republicans, they set off to study them.
The firm called these Trump supporters “disenfranchised new Republicans”: younger than traditional party loyalists and less likely to live in metropolitan areas. They share Bannon’s populist spirit and care more than other Republicans about three big issues: law and order, immigration, and wages.
They also harbored a deep contempt for the reigning political establishment in both parties, along with a desire to return the country to happier times. Trump was the key that fit in this lock.
