{"id":20137,"date":"2016-01-28T14:01:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T19:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/washington-experience\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:46:05","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:46:05","slug":"washington-experience","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2016\/01\/28\/washington-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Partisan divide grows over value of Washington experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the first 2016 nomination contests at hand, a new survey underscores the extent to which Republicans have come to place less value on a presidential candidate\u2019s prior experience in office \u2013 especially experience as a Washington official.<\/p>\n\n

\"More<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Currently, 44% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they would be less likely to support a hypothetical presidential candidate who has been an elected official in Washington, D.C., for many years. Fewer than half as many Republicans (18%) say they would be more likely to support such a candidate, while 37% say extensive Washington experience would not matter.<\/p>\n\n

By contrast, just 19% of Democrats and Democratic leaners view lengthy Washington experience as a negative trait for a candidate: 27% say they would be more likely to support such a candidate, and 53% say it would not be a factor.<\/p>\n\n

The share of Republicans who say they would be less likely to support a candidate with many years of experience in Washington has more than doubled since 2007 \u2013 from 20% to 44% \u2013 while showing less change among Democrats (increasing from 12% to 19%).<\/p>\n\n

In 2007, only 15% of the public overall said they would be less likely to support a candidate with extensive experience in Washington, while 35% said they would be more likely to do so. About half (45%) said this would not factor into their decision. In 2016, roughly twice as many (31%) say they would be less likely to support a candidate with Washington experience as said this nine years ago, while about two-in-ten (22%) now say they would view this experience positively. The share saying that this would not be a factor remains unchanged (46%).<\/p>\n\n

These findings come from a new Pew Research Center survey released Jan. 27. (See the full report, \u201cFaith and the 2016 Campaign,\u201d<\/a> for a list of all 13 candidate traits included in the survey, including views of the impact of a candidate\u2019s religious affiliation.)<\/p>\n\n

In a survey conducted in September<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0did not ask specifically about Washington experience, 65% of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters said it was more important for a presidential candidate to have \u201cnew ideas and a different approach,\u201d while just 29% valued \u201cexperience and proven record.\u201d This marked a shift in views from March: At that time, a majority of GOP voters (57%) viewed experience as more important than new ideas and a different approach.<\/p>\n\n

\"Partisan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

The new survey, conducted Jan. 7-14, finds that Republicans and Democrats differ over the importance of many aspects of a hypothetical presidential candidate\u2019s background, beyond experience as a Washington official.<\/p>\n\n

Among the public generally, military experience is viewed as the most appealing of the 13 traits tested. Half (50%) of the public say they would be more likely to vote for\u00a0a presidential candidate who has served in the military; just 4% say they would be less likely to support such a candidate, while 45% say it would make no difference.<\/p>\n\n

Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (67%) say they would be more likely to vote for\u00a0a candidate who has served in the military, compared with just 39% of Democrats and Democratic-leaners.<\/p>\n\n

Few Democrats (just 5%) say they would be less <\/em>likely to vote for a military veteran; most (55%) say military experience would not be a factor in their vote. This gap is about as wide as it was in the last presidential campaign.<\/p>\n\n

More Republicans than Democrats would negatively view a candidate who does not believe in God (65% of Republicans less likely to support vs. 41% of Democrats), had a past extramarital affair (49% vs. 32%) or is gay or lesbian (38% vs. 16%).<\/p>\n\n

\"Majorities<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

While Republicans are more likely than Democrats to view a gay or lesbian candidate negatively, increasing shares in both parties say this would not be a factor in whom to support. Fully 77% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans say it would not matter if a candidate is gay or lesbian; in 2007, 58% and 36%, respectively, expressed this view.<\/p>\n\n

For most Republicans and Democrats, a presidential candidate\u2019s education at \u201ca prestigious university such as Harvard or Yale\u201d would not be a factor in deciding whom to support. Fully 78% of Republicans say a candidate\u2019s attendance at prestigious university would not matter, as do 71% of Democrats. Nonetheless, somewhat more Democrats (24%) than Republicans (14%) say they would be more likely to support such a candidate.<\/p>\n\n

\"Past<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

While Democrats are far more supportive than Republicans of legalizing the use of marijuana<\/a>, they have similar views of a hypothetical presidential candidate who used marijuana in the past. Large majorities of Democrats (78%) and Republicans (74%) say a candidate\u2019s past use of marijuana would not matter.<\/p>\n\n

Democrats and Republicans also have about the same views of a candidate who has had personal financial troubles. Roughly four-in-ten in both parties (42%) say they would be less likely to support such a candidate, while 50% of Republicans and 48% of Democrats say this would not matter.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the first 2016 nomination contests at hand, a new survey underscores the extent to which Republicans have come to place less value on a presidential candidate\u2019s prior experience in office \u2013 especially experience as a Washington official.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":null,"sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"bylines":[745],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[520],"class_list":["post-20137","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","bylines-shiva-maniam","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-politics"],"label":"Short 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