You hear it every election year: which candidate would voters rather have a beer with?
A new survey from the Independent Center set out to answer that question in three critical states, polling Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on the subject of which pol would make a better drinking buddy.
They found that in the current battle between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Blue Wall voters would rather hoist a brew with the Democrat than the Republican, which could spell trouble for Trump in November.
In all three states surveyed, Harris won the taste test — marginally — over former President Trump.
The contest is tightest in Pennsylvania, where 38% of voters preferred to drink with Harris versus 37% who would rather get tipsy with Trump.
Another 22% would rather drink without either of them around.
Michigan looks roughly the same: 39% would rather have a Harris happy hour, while 36% would opt for the Republican nominee. 21% of Michiganders would prefer to drink alone, also.
Wisconsinites are the most decisively in favor of drinking with Harris over Trump, with 42% preferring to clink glasses with the veep and just 35% preferring the former president, while 19% would pass on both.
The so-called “playground poll” also considered whether Harris or Trump would be the most trusted babysitter, and the takeaway from this one is that Trump’s post-politics future likely isn’t in day care.
Across all three states, just 20% of respondents would rather have the man from Mar-a-Lago watch their kids, while “Momala” won the preference of 45% in Michigan, 43% in Wisconsin, and 46% in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, roughly a third of voters (32% of Michiganders, 34% of Pennsylvanians, and 30% of Wisconsinites) would rather have neither major party candidate handling their child care.
Pollsters also probed the question of which candidate was more “weird,” and those results weren’t great for the GOP standard bearer either.
45% of voters across all three states think Trump is weirder than Harris, while 32% take the opposing view, and 17% think they are both weirdos.
The biggest spread is in pivotal Pennsylvania, where 46% think Trump wins the weirdness contest, and just 30% believe it’s Harris.
In Michigan, the margin is a more modest 9 points (43% picking Trump, 34% selecting Harris).
After considering drinking partners, child care options, and the question of weirdness, the overall result of the poll may seem anticlimactic.
Or, depending on your perspective, it may seem informed by these questions.
Most consequentially, Harris led all three states in the choice for president, 49% to 43% over Trump in the aggregate.