2016 primary candidates Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Hillary Clinton.

Love and Politics: Who’s 1st in the Hearts of American Singles

Online daters confess who they’d rather go on a date with.

Published on April 13, 2016 • By Megan Murray

It’s been a crazy couple of months of presidential campaigning. From small hands, birds landing on podiums, missed cues, doctors turned politicians, live debates and live tweets, controversy and collaboration, a lot has happened since we last talked to singles about their take on the election.

As the primaries move towards a close, we decided to check back in and see if the singles at the online dating site Zoosk have changed any of their views after eight months. After all, the candidates aren’t the only ones allowed to flip flop.

Here’s what we found…

We’ll Cross Party Lines for a Good Date
Even though the rhetoric between the candidates has become more polarized, when it comes to dating, 84% of singles are willing to cross party lines and date someone from the opposite party. That’s up 9% from April.

Everyone Likes a Democrat in the Sack
Even if they’re a little conservative, most people are liberal in the bedroom. The majority of singles (55%) think Democrats are likely to be better than Republicans in bed. Even 23% of self-identified Republicans agree.

Frontrunners Stay on Top
When you ask singles who they think is the most dateable, Republican singles go with Trump (49%) while Democrats choose Hillary (40%).

Controversy Can Be Charming
Despite the backlash he receives for his controversial comments, more singles (36%) find Trump more charming and funny than other candidates. Bernie Sanders follows with 25%, Hillary has 16% of the vote, and Kasich and Ted Cruz pull up the rear with 11% each. In addition, 38% of voters said they’d want to grab a beer with Trump over Bernie (27%) and Hillary (15%).

Talking about Trump Takes Its Toll
Back in August, 77% of daters said bringing up Trump on date could begin a lengthy, productive conversation about politics. But when asked again in March, only 29% felt the same. That’s a big drop. In addition, in both August and March, single women were twice as likely to report “wanting to run in the opposite direction” if the topic of Trump was brought up on a date.

As the campaigns move on and the candidates continue to battle it out for the hearts and minds of the voters, singles are taking note. Will the most dateable candidate also be the most electable? Only time will tell.

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