Received political wisdom is that NZ is a conservative country, tending to the right. Interesting then, to see this data on our voting preferences re American presidential candidates (Stephen Mills in The Herald):
If only Kiwis could vote for president
There has been some debate among New Zealand political commentators about whether a candidate like Donald Trump could emerge in New Zealand.
Perhaps one already has.
What is clear is that New Zealanders would much prefer a Democrat won this year’s contest in the US. Given a hypothetical vote in the US presidential election in a UMR survey in early April, 82 per cent would go for Hillary Clinton and only 9 per cent for Donald Trump.
…
If the choice was between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, New Zealanders would decisively elect the socialist senator from Vermont. He wins by 77 per cent to 8 per cent and even National voters prefer the avowed socialist by 76 per cent to 13 per cent.
Interesting!
New Zealanders are not too keen on Ted Cruz either. In a contest between Cruz and Clinton 72 per cent prefer Clinton and 14 per cent Cruz. If between Sanders and Cruz, Sanders wins 48-19 per cent, though 33 per cent are unsure of their vote facing this lower-profile match up. National voters veer a little right on this head-to-head but still prefer the socialist Sanders over Cruz by 39-28 per cent.
Perhaps there is hope for us yet.
We prefer Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders as well. Given that choice 55 per cent of New Zealanders go for Clinton and 25 per cent for Sanders.
Bother!
In an almost exact parallel to United States demographic breakdowns, younger New Zealanders were much more likely to go for Sanders. Among under 30-year-olds 39 per cent preferred Sanders and 34 per cent Clinton. Clinton had big leads among older age cohorts.
If only the young would get out and vote.
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