Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Sumter, S.C., February 28, 2020. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

At Bloomberg, the perceptive Joshua Green describes a phenomenon I’ve observed up close: the “double hater” voter. Voters who disliked both Trump and Hillary Clinton “comprised about 3% to 5% of the 15 million voters the [Trump] campaign believed were persuadable” he writes, “but they were vexing because their intentions were difficult to discern.” “While their voting history indicated they would likely cast a ballot, many refused to answer” in polls. Many double haters lean Republican already. And in the end, this group of voters broke decisively for Trump. What Green finds in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll is that right now, Biden is winning double haters 60 percent to 10 percent.


As a matter of casual observation, this fits with my experience; the double hater is one of the most common types I hear from, and their preference for Biden is palpable.