Thread by @johnmsides

I have a new report out about economic distress in the U.S., co-authored with @rp_griffin. This is based on 2018 polling from @DemocracyFund's Voter Study Group. voterstudygroup.org/publications/2…

Here are a few findings. (1/x)

The big problem with measuring views of the economy is partisan bias (news.gallup.com/poll/233576/am…). "Is the economy getting better" correlates with party identification at |r|=.44.

This report uses a 14-question index that is weakly correlated with party identification. (|r|=.11).

Finding #1: Economic distress is higher among people of color than whites. This should be obvious but the focus on the "white working class" obscures it.

In fact, whites without a college degree report *less* distress than blacks *with* a college degree.

Finding #2: Clinton voters, not Trump voters, report more economic distress -- at all income levels.

And similar questions on the fall 2016 @electionstudies survey showed no greater distress among Trump voters.

@monkeycageblog readers already knew this: washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…

Finding #3: Economic distress correlates in predictable ways with pessimism about the American dream as well as support for redistributive policies.

Last finding: Trump does worse among those with economic distress, especially independents.

Again, should be obvious. People punish the president for "bad times."

But the zombie myth lingers that Trump benefits politically from economic distressed.

So this is yet more data debunking the idea that economically distressed people were and are more likely to support Trump.

I hope you'll take a look at the report, and all of the other good research coming out of the Voter Study Group: voterstudygroup.org (fin).