# Factual Questions: Rich People tend to be Republican or Democrat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797 "2004-11-20T04:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/1 "2004-11-20T04:12:09Z")
The name of the post asks it all… -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/2 "2004-11-20T04:18:23Z")
n/t ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/3 "2004-11-20T04:21:13Z")
No cite, but I do remember a factoid during the campaign that said that relatively rich people - up to $10 million - were 60-40 in favor of Republicans, but really rich people - over $10 million - were 60-40 in favor of Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![OliverTwistofLime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b487fb/32.png) [@OliverTwistofLime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OliverTwistofLime)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/4 "2004-11-20T05:24:25Z")
The rich…up to 10 million in assets more likely than not are republicans for obvious reasons…taxation…they tend to “vote their pocketbook” IMHO, those worth 10 million are more as the Marshall Fields, the Kennedy Family and numerous celebrites tend to be quite liberal and democratic. Having everything they could possible desire, most of them get a “guilty” feeling that they have so much and the poor have so little so they comfort themselves by pushing for those not as fortunate as themselves. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/5 "2004-11-20T05:36:49Z")
[from the 2004 exit polls](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html) VOTE BY INCOME \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_BUSH \_\_\_\_\_\_KERRY \_\_\_\_\_\_NADER Under $15,000 (8%)\_\_\_\_\_\_36% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_63% \_\_\_\_\_\_0% $15-30,000 (15%)\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_42% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_57% \_\_\_\_\_\_0% $30-50,000 (22%) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_49%\_\_\_\_\_\_\_50% \_\_\_\_\_\_0% $50-75,000 (23%) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_56%\_\_\_\_\_\_\_43% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_0% $75-100,000 (14%)\_\_\_\_\_\_ 55%\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ 45%\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ 0% $100-150,000 (11%) \_\_\_\_\_57%\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_42% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_1% $150-200,000 (4%) \_\_\_\_\_\_58% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_42% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\* $200,000 or More (3%) \_\_\_63% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_35% \_\_\_\_\_\_\_1% (Please excuse the crappiness of this table. Not sure how to format it here.) Of course this doesn’t take assets into account. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/6 "2004-11-20T06:56:24Z")
A good chunk of rich people are Republicans. The extremely wealthy tend to follow what they feel as opposed to their pocketbooks because in all honesty government doesn’t effect them that much. Oddly enough look at Donald Trump, the guy contributes equally to both parties so I’m not sure what is up with that. I will say though that most self made millionaires are probably Bush fans because the Republican party doesn’t think it is evil to create a business enterprise and profit from it. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/7 "2004-11-20T08:11:27Z")
Gosh, and here I figured most millionaires vote Republican because the GOP doesn’t care _how_ you get rich – whether by hook or by crook, the only thing that matters is getting away with it… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/8 "2004-11-20T08:21:33Z")
My guess would be that people who had to work hard to become rich tend to be Republican, and that people who came by their wealth fairly easily or who are so wealthy they literally have nothing else to spend their money on tend to be Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/9 "2004-11-20T09:49:12Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > My guess would be that people who had to work hard to become rich tend to be Republican, and that people who came by their wealth fairly easily or who are so wealthy they literally have nothing else to spend their money on tend to be Democrats. Ooh, **Starvers** , you are naughty. Posting this stuff when all your enemies are asleep. At university in 1979, a friend asked me whether I would be voting for incumbent Jim Callaghan (Socialist) or challenger Margaret Thatcher (Conservative). I told him I would consider voting Socialist when I had enough money to do so. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/10 "2004-11-20T10:37:02Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Oddly enough look at Donald Trump, the guy contributes equally to both parties so I’m not sure what is up with that. Influence, I’d guess. Rather than trying to elect someone he likes, Trump is probably just making sure that the legislators will answer his calls and write and support legislation that is favorable to his business interests. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/11 "2004-11-20T12:56:04Z")
According to my AP government class, wealthier people are more apt to vote Republican. However, better educated people are more apt to vote Democrat.\* \*I’m not saying this holds true in every case, nor am I trying to say anything bad about Republicans- this is just what the text book and teacher said. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/12 "2004-11-20T13:00:53Z")
> [@monica](#): > > However, better educated people are more apt to vote Democrat. Just a hint of bias there, no? Surely more educated people would be more apt to analyse the election better and vote accordingly - be it Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Monster Raving Loony. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/13 "2004-11-20T13:23:56Z")
There is more to the Republican Party than money, you know! How come every answer involves that? Surely we don’t just _soley_ vote for and against tax breaks or our own economic benefit, thank God. There are bigger, fundamental issues at stake! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/14 "2004-11-20T14:15:33Z")
> [@monica](#): > > However, better educated people are more apt to vote Democrat.\* You might want to see if that little tidbit breaks down a further. The Democrat party is proud to have the poor, minorities, and blue collar union workers among its its biggest supporters. One presumes that there are not a disproportionate amount of Harvard degrees among these groups. They are supposed to be the party of the “disadvantaged”. How could they be “disadvantaged” if they all were fortunate enough to have these sterling academic credentials? ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/15 "2004-11-20T15:05:00Z")
> [@monica](#): > > According to my AP government class, wealthier people are more apt to vote Republican. However, better educated people are more apt to vote Democrat.\* From the exit polls I have seen, when it come to education, Democrats tend to have a bimodal distribution, while the Republican distribution is more centered. Generally, high school drop out strongly favor Democrats, high school graduates weakly favor Democrats, those with some college weakly favor Republicans, those with 4-year degrees strongly favor Republicans, and post-grads strongly favor Democrats. You see almost the same pattern with income levels as well - as income levels rise, a person is more likely to favor Repulicans, up to a point; at a certain level then the uber-rich tend to favor Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/16 "2004-11-20T15:19:40Z")
Oops, I went back and looked at the exit polls, and made some slight errors on my statement above. Still, the Democratic vote is bimodal, when it comes to education levels. [Here is the poll I checked.](http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html) ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/17 "2004-11-20T16:07:34Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > at a certain level then the uber-rich tend to favor Democrats. That’s when they get their conscience back, presumably. ---
**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/18 "2004-11-20T17:48:11Z")
> [@monica](#): > > According to my AP government class, wealthier people are more apt to vote Republican. However, better educated people are more apt to vote Democrat.\* > > \*I’m not saying this holds true in every case, nor am I trying to say anything bad about Republicans- this is just what the text book and teacher said. Polls show that on the average, Republican voters are more likely to hold views which are factually incorrect. This is also my personal experience. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/19 "2004-11-20T20:27:14Z")
**galen** wrote > [@](#): > > Polls show that on the average, Republican voters are more likely to hold views which are factually incorrect. This is also my personal experience. Cites, please. I’m sure that PIPA nonsense will be cite one, so don’t bother digging it up. But as you said “Polls”, I’m sure you have another. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797/20 "2004-11-20T20:32:34Z")
My parents and most of my relatives are fairly wealthy, and vote Democrat. I’m rather poor in comparison, live an austere lifestyle, and vote Republican. Go figure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-questions-rich-people-tend-to-be-republican-or-democrat/275797.md?page=2)