• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 14, 2016

In several primary contests to date, billionaire Donald Trump has fared better among white Republican voters who have not completed college than among white GOP college graduates. The 2016 presidential campaign has exposed class and education differences among Republicans.

According to a review of Pew Research Center surveys over the past several months, white Republican college graduates and white Republicans who do not have a degree, generally agree on many political and policy issues. But there also are clear differences in their views on immigration, racial issues, politics and government, and business.

Based on political surveys in 2015, 80% of white non-Hispanics made up a large majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, while white non-Hispanics made up only 65% of the public overall.

Among all Republicans and Republican “leaners”, 23% are white college graduates, but 57% are whites who either have attended college but have not obtained a degree, or have not attended college.

62% of white non-college Republicans viewed immigrants as “a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care.” Just 26% said immigrants “strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents.” Among white college graduate Republicans, opinion was divided: 44% said immigrants strengthened the country while 42% said they were a burden.

Half of white non-college Republicans said they would be more likely to support a candidate for the Republican nomination who wants to deport all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, according to a survey last September. Among better-educated white Republicans, 38% said they would favor such a candidate.

By a wide margin, Republicans favored building a fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Support for a border fence was more widespread among white Republicans who have not completed college (75%) than those who have (64%).

White Republicans with less than a college education also expressed less positive views of increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. 48% said having “an increasing number of people of many different races, ethnic groups and nationalities” makes the U.S. a better place to live. Among white college-educated Republicans, 65% viewed growing racial and ethnic diversity positively.

The response on government found widespread dissatisfaction with politics, especially among Republicans. 79% of all Republicans and Republican leaners said their side in politics loses more often than it wins. There were no significant differences on this question between white college graduates and whites who had not completed college, or on whether they felt “angry” with the federal government.

Less-educated white Republicans were more likely than those with more education to view politics “as a struggle between right and wrong.” 51% of white Republicans who have not completed college said politics is a struggle between right and wrong, compared with 35% of better-educated white Republicans.

Overall, just 38% of Republicans and Republican leaners said they like elected officials who compromise, compared with 59% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. White Republicans who have not completed college had a markedly negative view of politicians who compromise, with only a third seeing them positively. By contrast, about half (52%) of college-educated white Republicans had a favorable view of those who compromise.

Less-educated white Republicans were far more likely than white Republican college graduates to express critical views of business corporations and the fairness of the U.S. economic system.

Finally, most white Republicans who have not completed college said they doubted the fairness of the U.S. economic system: 60% said the economic system favors the powerful, compared with just 37% who said it is generally fair to most Americans. Among white college Republicans, 55% viewed the economic system as fair.     

For additional information about the study, please visit here.