Overall, 37 percent of all voters said they have had an argument about the election. | Getty Pew study: Trump, Clinton supporters not on good personal terms

Only one in four voters supporting Donald Trump say they have a lot of or even some close friends backing Hillary Clinton, according to the results of a Pew Research Center survey out Wednesday looking at how voters are talking — or even arguing — about the presidential election.

But even fewer supporting or leaning toward the Democratic nominee say they have close acquaintances boosting Trump.


While 25 percent of registered voters favoring Trump responded that they have more than a few friends backing Clinton, only 18 percent who say they will likely vote for the Democratic nominee said they have at least some close acquaintances voting for the Manhattan businessman.

Overall, 37 percent of all voters said they have had an argument about the election, while 62 percent said they have not. But just 8 percent of those who said they have quarreled would categorize the dispute as a “major” one.

Among Clinton supporters, nearly half of those surveyed — 47 percent — said they have no friends who are voting Trump. About one in three, or 31 percent, of those leaning toward Trump said the same of Clinton supporters in their social circles.

More than seven in 10 of Clinton’s African-American supporters — 72 percent — said they do not have any close friends supporting Trump, which is twice the share of the 36 percent of white Clinton supporters who said they are not aware of any Trump voters in their circles.

Additionally, 59 percent of African-American Clinton supporters said they have “a lot” of close acquaintances supporting their candidate, compared with 33 percent of whites who said the same.

Along generational lines, 58 percent of Clinton’s backers younger than 30 said that none of their close friends support Trump, while that share decreases to 41 percent in Clinton supporters older than 50.

On the flip side, nearly half of the Trump supporters surveyed — 44 percent — said they have a lot of close friends who are planning to vote for the New York mogul in November, while 38 percent said they have at least some close friends who will do so. The findings are similar among Clinton supporters: Forty-one percent said they had a lot of friends voting for the former secretary of state, while 40 percent said they knew of at least some.

Less educated voters of either candidate were more likely to respond that they do not have any friends supporting the person they oppose.

The survey was conducted online and by mail from June 7 to July 5 through Pew’s American Trends Panel, ending weeks before either major party’s convention.

Two in three voters — 67 percent — said the election comes up in conversation somewhat often, while just 23 percent said it surfaces very often.

Supporters of either candidate are also much more likely to have discussed the election with like-minded voters, the study found. While 76 percent of Trump voters said they had recently spoken with another Trump supporter about the upcoming election, only 37 percent said they had discussed it with someone backing Clinton. For Clinton backers, 72 percent said their recent conversations have been with only like-minded voters, while 40 percent said they have talked about the election with Trump supporters.

As far as how open they are about expressing their support, 58 percent of all registered voters said they do not mind people knowing, but that they do not go out of their way to tell others. A further 33 percent said they are “pretty outspoken,” while just 7 percent said they would rather people not know. Clinton and Trump voters alike expressed similar sentiments on those issues.

But among those who said they are “pretty outspoken,” 38 percent said they do not have any friends who support the other candidate, while 34 percent said they have just a few, and 24 percent said they had at least some. At the same time, 45 percent of those same voters said they have a lot of friends who support their candidate, 24 percent said they have at least some, and just 9 percent said they have none.

The Pew study surveyed 4,602 randomly selected adults with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. Among the 3,834 registered voters surveyed, the margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The study includes 1,705 Trump supporters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, as well as 2,040 Clinton supporters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.