Perhaps spurring much of this division is the GOP’s over-reliance on an energized and motivated, yet rapidly diminishing, white electorate. The white vote this year was at an all-time low of 69 percent, 3 percentage points lower than just four years ago.
In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, despite Trump’s phenomenal showing in rural areas, he surprisingly won white voters by a margin almost identical to that of Romney in 2012. Moreover, he only narrowly bested Clinton among college-educated white voters — by 4 points. While Trump performed slightly better than Romney among Hispanics and African-Americans, white voters undoubtedly make up the base of his support.
So such numbers are troubling news considering the diminishing returns from this once-dominant voting bloc.
To the victors go the spoils, and Trump and the GOP will reap the electoral benefits. Still, Trump and congressional leaders will preside over a deeply divided nation amid a triumph that by no means was defining or dominant.
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