We’re less than a week out from the election. A recent Gallup poll has Mitt Romney ahead of Barack Obama by three percentage points, 50% to 47%. Public Policy Polling, on the other hand, has Obama at 49%, Romney at 48%, and the remaining 3% undecided. The race can easily swing either way, but one thing is for sure: we know whom Yale will be voting for.
Get off I-95 and take a hard left
When Rick Santorum debated with the Yale Political Union on September 4, 2012, he said that his friends warned him about coming to Yale. That’s pretty telling. By an overwhelming margin, Yale leans — or, more accurately, swerves — to the political left. Eighty five percent of the undergraduate student body plans on voting in the upcoming presidential election, and of those, 77% will vote for Obama, 14% for Romney, 9% for Libertarian Gary Johnson, and a flat out 0% for Green Partier Jill Stein. Seven percent are still undecided.
The Politic broke down support for Obama and Ryan into 18 key issues. Of those, Romney fared best, unsurprisingly, on the economic ones (role of government, job creation, economic regulation, debt, and entitlements). Still, though, he never received more than 32% approval. His lowest ratings came on social issues (same-sex marriage, abortion, and the environment). Also perhaps unsurprising is that Romney fared worse with women than with men — 10% versus 19%. Granted, this poll was conducted before the first debate, during which Romney was able to humanize himself and convert a significant number of female voters. But Yalies were already extremely well-informed and thus less likely to swing from one candidate to another.
The residential college breakdown
Ezra Stiles takes home the award for most liberal, with 91% voting for Obama. It must have something to do with the lack of right angles. On the other end—most conservative—is Davenport. The name Davenport just screams conservative, old-world order, right? (Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both lived in Davenport and can climb their family tree up to the Davenports.) This is quite a stark turnaround from last year, when Davenport students self-identified as the most liberal on campus. Silliman, however, has the greatest undecided population at 11%.
From one President to another
The most interesting write-in vote The Politic received: outgoing Yale President Richard Levin. Perhaps now we know why he’s leaving his current post! If he can translate his favorability rating within Yale, 77%, to a similar national favorability rating, he could win. Levin shares that favorability with another presidential candidate: Hilary Clinton. Asked if they would support Clinton serving as president of Yale, students were very supportive, with 77% saying yes.
For a full report of the findings, please click on our Politic Poll.