So, who do most truckers want to see in the White House come November?
uShip set out to find that answer by polling our trucking community, asking them, “Which presidential candidate will most benefit the trucking industry?”
Turns out 6 in 10 (60%) say Donald Trump is their man. Nearly 11% want Hillary Clinton, while 7% want Ted Cruz, 5% want Bernie Sanders, and 4% want Ben Carson.
Jeb Bush and Rand Paul each got 3%, while the rest of the field–Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, Jim Gilmore, John Kasich, Martin O’Malley, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum–received a smattering of support.
Based on sentiment from polled truckers, many feel the controversial candidate has the best business mind when compared to others, and would help represent their interests in a trucking industry that’s been grappling with some big ticket issues lately, like Hours of Service, major infrastructure bills, trucker coercion, and more.
Unlike many of the current national polls that are party-specific, the uShip survey looked at the whole field of candidates, regardless of party. As it turns out, when placed side by side, there are similar results, for the most part. The latest IBD/TIPP Republican National Election Poll shows Trump 16 points ahead of Cruz, while the Democratic National Election Poll by IBD/TIPP shows Clinton just 4 points ahead of Sanders, down from as many as 18 points.
Other findings in the uShip Presidential Poll:
81% of self-proclaimed Republicans prefer Trump, 5% Cruz, 4% Carson, and 3% each for Clinton and Jeb Bush
41% of self-proclaimed Democrats prefer Clinton, while 28% prefer Trump
39% of self-proclaimed Libertarians prefer Trump, while 15% prefer Clinton
The older the trucker, the more likely they prefer Trump. Of those 25-44, nearly 53% prefer him while 70% of those age 45-54 do and 65% of those 55+ prefer Trump
Among young truckers age 18-24, 58% prefer Trump while 25% prefer Carson
Among truckers 25-34, 53% prefer Trump while 16% want Clinton and 11% want Bush
Among truckers 35-44, 53% prefer Trump, while Clinton and Cruz are preferred by 12% each
Among female truckers, which represented 11% of those polled, 45% prefer Trump, 18% for Clinton and 14% for Sanders. Among male truckers, 66% prefer Trump, 10% Clinton and 7% Cruz
This poll was taken late December following that month’s candidate debates. Look for ongoing updates as we re-poll truckers in the coming months once the primaries progress and voter sentiment further heats up.
