Stress Levels and the 2020 Election

Many of us have experienced feelings of stress throughout the 2020 election. In our latest round of Research-on-Research we look at election stress before, during, and after the election based on political party, gender, ethnicity, age, and region.

Political Party

Overall, Democrats have been more stressed than Republicans throughout this election season. Before the election, Democrats were 5% more stressed than Republicans. During the election, Democrats were 8% more stressed. Now, after the election, Democrats are 12% more stressed than Republicans.

Gender

When looking at election stress by gender, females were 9% more stressed than males before the election whereas 24% of both males and females were stressed during the election. Females are 11% more stressed than males following the election.

Ethnicity

Caucasian/White respondents were the most stressed before, during, and after the election. Hispanic respondents were 9% more stressed than African American/Black respondents before the election and 3% during. And African Americans are 7% more stressed than Hispanic respondents after the election.

Age

When looking at stress during the election by age, 18-34-year-old respondents were the most stressed before and during the election. After the election, respondents age 35-54 are the most stressed.

Region

In terms of region, respondents in the South were the most stressed throughout this election.

Election-based stress has affected people across all demographics and is another unprecedented factor that needs to be accounted for when looking at respondents’ data. For this reason, we recommend a blended approach to sampling, such as our intentional and controlled method of sample blending, Intelliblend™.

If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s Research-on-Research, which includes further research on the election, COVID-19, and other current event topics, you can download our Sample Landscape: 2020 Edition.