NASHVILLE, TN -- (Marketwired) -- 09/17/15 -- Forget immigration, the Iran deal, Obamacare, restraining the federal government or even the brashness of The Donald. What American voters REALLY wanted discussed in Wednesday evening's Republican presidential debate -- but wasn't -- concerned the candidates' hair.
And, yes, voters agree, more than any other Republican candidate Donald Trump REALLY does have the best hair (24.1%). (See tabulated questions/results at the end of this release.) The candidate deemed to have the worst hair -- by a wide margin -- was Governor John Kasich (1.2%), who seems to prefer a closely cropped hairstyle.
Respondents spoke out on other critical questions, too:
- Which candidate they'd most like to partner with on "Amazing Race"
- Which candidate is the best dancer (and who's the worst)
- Which candidate most likely "inhaled" while they were in college
- Which candidate did they most want to see as the subject of a comedy roast
The results were -- in some cases -- as startling as the questions themselves, according to 20|20 Research, the research firm that targeted 2,000 American voters with this Flash Poll conducted during, and immediately after, the Wednesday night debate. The firm used Facebook as its source for its respondent pool given that it's become America's medium of choice for opinions.
"Sure, these are serious times -- and in the next election, Americans will be facing serious issues," said Jim Bryson, Founder and CEO of 20|20 Research. In addition to his 30-year career in market research, Bryson served in the Tennessee State Senate, sharpening his perception of all things political.
"However, this far out from the election, we Americans need a break from the insufferable talking heads and ask the questions that really matter. So we said 'enough with the surface issues -- let's find out what people really think.'"
Instead of posing the standard -- and boring -- questions that focus on how some of today's hot-button issues might impact an election 14 months into the future, the research company chose questions that politically correct moderators would be afraid to ask.
The results? According to 20|20's poll, it was really a Donald Trump kind of night.
On the question of who you'd most like to see roasted at a comedy roast, there was almost universal agreement -- The Donald topped everyone by a large margin (58.3%). Like him or hate him, most everyone wanted to see Trump roasted. Few wanted to see former Governor George Pataki on that hot seat (0.4%). Of course, comedy roasts are supposed to be funny, which is hard to pull off when you're bland and boring.
In other questions, Trump continued to suck the air out of the room.
More than a third of voters (33.7%) selected him as the candidate they'd want as a partner on "Amazing Race" because he is entertaining and, as one respondent said, is "rich enough to cheat." And speaking of air, there was close to a three-way tie between Trump (24.7%), Governor Chris Christie (21.4%) and former Governor Jeb Bush (18.8%) as to whom respondents thought might have "inhaled" while in college. Go figure.
The one category Trump didn't dominate was who respondents thought would be the best dancer. Senator Marco Rubio took that category with 14.5% of the vote, followed closely by Carly Fiorina (14.0%), Dr. Ben Carson (13.7%), Christie (11.5%) and Senator Ted Cruz (10.3%). Once again, Kasich was dead last with 0.7%.
The overall sentiment from the 2,000 voters 20|20 polled: It's going to be a long political season. So, let's have a little fun along the way!
20|20 Research
Republican Presidential Debate Flash Poll Tabulation
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
1. Who would you want as your partner on "The Amazing Race"?
(33.7%) Trump
(16.6%) Carson
(8.2%) Bush
(7.6%) Fiorina
(7.3%) Rubio
(5.3%) Christie
(5.0%) Paul
(4.0%) Cruz
(2.7%) Huckabee
(2.6%) Jindal
(2.4%) Walker
(2.1%) Kasich
(1.9%) Santorum
(1.1%) Pataki
2. Which candidate looks most likely to have "inhaled" while in college?
(24.7%) Trump
(18.8%) Bush
(21.4%) Christie
(8.9%) Paul
(4.2%) Huckabee
(3.4%) Rubio
(3.1%) Cruz
(2.9%) Jindal
(2.9%) Walker
(2.6%) Carson
(2.4%) Santorum
(2.0%) Pataki
(2.0%) Fiorina
(1.1%) Kasich
3. Which candidate would you most enjoy seeing roasted at a comedy roast?
(58.3%) Trump
(13.0%) Christie
(9.5%) Bush
(5.2%) Huckabee
(2.6%) Cruz
(2.5%) Santorum
(1.9%) Paul
(1.7%) Carson
(1.3%) Fiorina
(1.3%) Rubio
(1.3%) Walker
(0.7%) Jindal
(0.6%) Kasich
(0.4%) Pataki
4. Which candidate is probably the best dancer?
(14.5%) Rubio
(14.0%) Fiorina
(13.7%) Carson
(11.5%) Christie
(10.3%) Cruz
(9.4%) Bush
(6.5%) Huckabee
(5.1%) Trump
(3.7%) Santorum
(3.6%) Jindal
(3.4%) Paul
(2.2%) Walker
(1.8%) Pataki
(0.7%) Kasich
5. Which candidate has the best hair?
(24.1%) Trump
(14.9%) Fiorina
(10.9%) Rubio
(7.9%) Bush
(6.7%) Paul
(6.3%) Cruz
(5.5%) Carson
(5.5%) Jindal
(5.4%) Christie
(4.1%) Santorum
(3.3%) Huckabee
(3.1%) Walker
(1.4%) Pataki
(1.2%) Kasich
About 20|20 Research
20|20 Research is a global leader in the development, support and service of online qualitative market research... and the software and technology that sustains it. Founded in 1986, the company works with market research and advertising firms around the world, with projects in more than 122 countries and 30+ languages. The past three years it has been named one of the most innovative research firms in the world by GreenBook Research Industry Trends, a top arbiter of the market research industry. The firm's operations are headquartered in Nashville and the company additionally maintains traditional focus group facilities in Nashville, Charlotte and Miami and a European office in London, England. www.2020research.com
Frank Limpus
615-668-9938
frank@limpuscommunications.com
