Aside from WikiLeaks’ latest revelation and the issue involving the use of a private email server, Hillary Clinton’s camp is facing another major obstacle on the path to the upcoming U.S. presidential election. This new problem comes in the form of a low voter turnout among Democrats due to Donald Trump’s consistent popularity in the polls.
Ever since her presidential race started, Clinton has been using various strategies to bring down Trump’s popularity and question his credibility to become the leader of the country. However, despite her efforts, the Republican nominee still stands as a strong contender in the election.
As pointed out by elections experts and recent poll findings, Clinton’s strategy to keep Trump away from the White House could significantly backfire and lead to a low voter turnout for her when election day comes.
That’s because according to a recent study, more than 50 percent of Clinton’s supporters said that they will only vote for her just to make sure that Trump doesn’t become president. On the other hand, only about 36 percent truly believe in her policies while another 12 percent would only vote for her because they like her, Reuters reported.
Since the main motivation of her supporters is to keep Trump from winning, then there’s a big chance they many of them will not vote on Nov. 8 if Clinton emerges as the clear frontrunner during the days leading up to the election.
“Turnout is correlated with levels of competition,” Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida said. “The higher the competition, the higher the turnout.”
This unfavorable turnout could then take Clinton by surprise and even hurt her chances of becoming president.
Trump, on the other hand, is currently enjoying a steady status in the polls, which means his supporters will still likely back him up at the election regardless of Clinton’s standing. This could provide him the upper hand in edging out his rival.
