Forty-six percent of University students have views that align with the Democratic party, according to a poll conducted by The Cavalier Daily in partnership with a faculty advisory committee and the Center for Survey Research.
In comparison, the percentage of students who say their views best align with the Republican Party or who identify as Independent are close at 25 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
The poll was conducted via email survey which was sent out Oct. 21 and closed Oct. 26. Students surveyed were chosen at random, and 1,412 responses were received.
Gender and party alignment
Of the male students surveyed, 40 percent identified as Democrats, slightly less than the overall percentage. The number of male students who identified as Republican or Independent were lower, with 28 percent identifying as Republican and 26 percent identifying as Independent.
A bigger contrast was seen among the female students surveyed. Almost 52 percent of female students said they align with the Democratic Party, while 22 percent said they identify as Republicans.
First-year College student Katherine Welsch-Lehmann, who was a part of the 22 percent identifying as Republican, said despite growing up in a liberal environment in Connecticut, the conservative beliefs her parents instilled in her persisted.
“Like probably almost everyone else, I think the main reason I'm Republican is because that's how I was brought up, and as I've gotten older, I've found Republican values in line with my own,” Welsch-Lehmann said. “As a female Republican, I believe strongly in individual freedoms, individual choice and limited government.”
Graphic by Amber Liu
Welsch-Lehmann said the most important issues influencing her political leaning are the economy, immigration and the freedoms granted to Americans by the Constitution. However, she said she does not agree with some positions taken by Republican politicians.
“For example, I don't advocate for mass deportation — although I do think we need to be stricter on immigration,” Welsch-Lehmann said. “I don't believe in a full ban on abortion — although, again, I'm not convinced every abortion should be legal or encouraged.”
Welsch-Lehmann also said in these instances it’s important to remember what the Republican Party stands for.
“The Republican party is not one individual, but rather a set of principles and a set of values” Welsch-Lehmann said. “Within the party, individuals can disagree on how to implement these values.”
Race and party alignment
A greater percentage of white students said they identified with Democrats over Republicans — 40 to 32 percent. This was a trend across all of the racial groups except Native Hawaiian respondents.
Of Hispanic respondents, 4.7 percent respondents identified as Republicans, compared to 45 percent who identified as Democrats.
First-year Nursing student Valeria Lopez Vazquez said being a Democrat means supporting more vulnerable Americans who do not have a voice.
“As a Texas resident, I was able to experience first-hand both viewpoints from immigrants and Hispanic citizens in the United States,” Vazquez said. “Immigration and race is a topic that is of dire importance today for me and many others. Therefore, I am a Democrat because I accept as true that each individual, in spite of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, deserves equal rights and respect to aim for a successful life.”
Like Vazquez, immigration policy is the primary reason why second-year College student Amalia Garcia identifies as a Democrat.
“As someone who was lucky enough to acquire U.S. citizenship from my mother and fortunate enough to have the means to be able to enter this country legally, I recognize that not all immigrants have had the same privilege as I have,” Garcia said.
Graphic by Amber Liu
Garcia said many American citizens pride the United States for being a “beacon for immigrants seeking a better life” but she does not believe that this “promise” should be limited to the people who have the financial means to enter the United States.
“This is not the only reason I identify as a Democrat, but in this political moment, it is really important for me to support the party that views immigrants coming from South and Central America as people deserving of basic human dignity, as opposed to labeling them as criminals,” Garcia said.
Religion and party alignment
There was little difference between the percentage of Catholic and non-Catholic Christians who identified as Democrats and Republicans. However, within the respondents of other religions there were stark contrasts.
The biggest difference was found within Hinduism — 77 percent of Hindu respondents said they identified as Democrats compared to 3 percent who identified as Republicans.
First-year College student Megha Karthikeyan said she does not believe there is anything specific in Hinduism that aligns with Democratic ideology, but thinks the inclusiveness of the Democratic Party is why more Hindus align with it.
“It’s not necessarily the Republican Party has something against the Hindu religion, it’s that the Democratic Party is more inclusive of the Hindu religion,” Karthikeyan said.
Within the religious demographic, another big difference was seen among respondents who are atheist. Sixty-seven percent of atheists said they were Democrats, while only about 33 percent identified as Republicans.
Fourth-year Engineering student Sofia Shalotenko said due to atheists’ active disassociation from religion, they often are able to gain new perspectives while maintaining a sense of empathy.
“To me, this understanding is similar to that which leads to Democratic beliefs,” Shalotenko said. “Someone who has a sense of what another might be going through in a community, even though they themselves might not be going through exactly the same obstacles, is more likely to support humanitarian causes, or feel a sense of social responsibility when casting their votes or forming a political opinion.”
Jared Taylor, a first-year Engineering student who was raised Catholic but said he stopped believing in God in high school, said he believes that when an individual doesn’t have a religion “their ideologies align with their politics, and they kind of see politics as their religion.”
“I’m really socially liberal but I would call myself a Republican, because economically and domestic policy-wise, I am very conservative,” Taylor said. “I’m kind of non-interventionist which aligns with the conservative fiscal policy.”
Taylor said the main reason he identifies as Republican is because of his exposure to religion as a child, and the ideals that he aligns with that are still there.
“I think having a religion in the government is kind of dangerous, in terms of gay marriage and like in Texas, where they’re teaching creationism in textbooks,” Taylor said. “I think it’s great for people to have religions. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but I don’t think it has a permanent stay in politics.”
For more information on polling methodology, click here.
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