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Fire up the grill. Summer’s here, and this fact is not lost on the pollsters. In its May 2016 survey, Quinnipiac asked, “Regardless of how you intend to vote, who would you rather invite to your backyard barbecue: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?” Thirty-nine percent of registered voters chose Clinton, while 47 percent chose Trump. Fifty percent of independents said they would invite Trump, as did 16 percent of Democrats (5 percent of Republicans said they would invite Clinton). Trump also received the highest response across all age groups.

This question is not unique to this year’s election. In June 2008, an online poll by the Associated Press and Yahoo found more people wanted to have Barack Obama at their summer barbecue (52 percent) than John McCain (45 percent). In May 2004, the first time Quinnipiac asked registered voters about backyard barbecue guests, 39 percent said John Kerry while 50 percent said George W. Bush.

As much as this question adds seasonal flavor to election polls, it also reveals how the public views the candidates as people like them, and not just as politicians. And that could be important in an election year when both candidates have high negatives.