LANSING – For the first time in history, voters identifying as “independent” outnumber both Democrats and Republicans, and that’s forcing political types to use other data to gather information on voters.
Speaking at the Small Business Association of Michigan annual networking luncheon, David Wasserman, the house editor of the Cook Political Report, said the moves away from political parties follows a larger nationwide trend of moving away from institutions.
“The largest hotel chain in the world has no rooms. The largest transportation service owns no cars,” Wasserman said, comparing the wane of political parties to the success of Airbnb and Uber, neither of which actually owns the commodities they trade in.
So what can be used to measure voters’ leanings? The retail store they frequent, Wasserman said.
After the 2014 election, Wasserman conducted a study to find which chain outlets could be used as a voter proxy. Wasserman found what he calls the “Organic/Nostalgic Divide.”
President Barack OBAMA won in 2012 in 77 percent of all counties with a Whole Foods Market, but just 29 percent of all counties with a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Republican presidential contender Mitt ROMNEY won 71 percent of all counties with a Cracker Barrel that same year.
Cracker Barrel has 12 locations throughout the state of Michigan. Whole Foods has seven locations, concentrated in Southeast Michigan and East Lansing.
