While the candidates sprint down what’s been a rocky road to the nomination nod from their respective parties in this year’s presidential election, a new study by WalletHub shines light on the financial makeup of the voters by analyzing their credit scores.
[Related: Americans Carrying Record Amounts of Car Debt]
“While the bulk of the attention is rightfully paid to the candidates themselves, there remains a great deal that we can learn about the very voters supporting them and thus each candidate’s message,†writes survey researcher Alina Comoreanu.
- Almost 26% of Hillary Clinton supporters have bad credit, the most of any candidate. She is followed by supporters of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, at 22% and 20%, respectively.
- Almost 60% of John Kasich supporters have excellent credit scores — the highest percentage of any candidate. Marco Rubio supporters came in second, at 58%. Ted Cruz has the most supporters with fair credit.
“The higher a consumer’s credit score, typically the higher their income level. High credit scores also skew to an older demographic, since length of open credit lines plays a major role in the overall score,” says Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub.
Economic circumstance also plays a role in voter participation according to data from the Census Bureau. People with household incomes of more than $75,000 voted at the highest rate of 77% in the 2012 presidential election.