It is what it is rporter. Most Americans aren’t political junkies and very few will ever do any research on the candidates. When it comes to partisanship voting, party affiliation, you have over 90% who identify with the major parties voting for their candidates regardless of who those candidates are. Independents are all over the place and much more apt to support third-party candidates than those who affiliate with the major parties. 1980 independents went to Reagan 55-31 over Carter with 12% voting for Anderson. 1992 independents went to Bill Clinton 39-29 with 30% voting for Perot, 1996 Bill Clinton again won independents this time 50-30 over Dole with 17% voting for Perot. 2016 saw Trump win independents 46-42 over Hillary Clinton with 12% voting third party, Johnson, Stein or McMullen.
If independents liked one or the other major party, they’d be a member of that party voting accordingly. The fact Harris has wiped out Trump’s 7-point lead among independents when he faced Biden into a tie is huge. It doesn’t bother me the reason why some independents switched to Harris, just the fact they did is what’s important. Fact is most independents didn’t want neither of the two old men, with Harris they’re getting their wish for a younger candidate.
