How your pet reveals if you’re more likely to vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election
In the political year of the “cat lady,” retired Michigan teacher Carrol McElroy is one of the cat lovers ready to pounce whenever Donald Trump comes up.
“I wouldn’t vote for him, not even for dog catcher. I just don’t like him as a person. I think he’s a liar and a fraud and I don’t trust him,” she tells DailyMail.com as she shops for her 18-pound tiger cat.
Wearing a pink T-shirt with a cat on it as she walks down the cat litter aisle at Magoo’s pet store in Flint, Michigan, McElroy is aware of recent controversies over campaign animals, including a debunked theory stoked by Trump about migrants eating people’s dogs and cats in neighboring Ohio. ‘What nonsense,’ she says.
For campaigners who analyze demographics to gain an edge in crucial states, her distaste for Trump will come as no surprise.
According to a new poll from DailyMail.com, a near majority of female cat owners support Kamala Harris, 47 percent to 32 percent.
And single cat ladies — the group that picked Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance — are among her most enthusiastic, backing her by a stunning 59-21 percent, according to the poll conducted by JL Partners.
Cat owner Carrol McElroy says she wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump as a dog catcher. Polls show female cat owners lean more toward Kamala Harris
“Single women with cats appear to be a distinctly Democratic group: our data shows that they support Kamala Harris by a whopping 56 points. This is not a tiny minority, but a blue army: our data suggests that ‘single cat ladies’ could make up as much as 18% of the electorate,” said pollster Joe Alder.
“That suggests there may be a deeper reason for the choice of a pet that also influences the choice of a politician,” he added.
Look beyond the surface of the poll of 1,000 likely voters and there is a lot more data about animals entering the race.
Male dog owners backed Trump by 54 votes to 38, while female dog owners backed Harris by 45 votes to 37.
Trump’s team criticizes Harris for his left-wing positions in the past, but it is his own supporters who are ready for the Aquarium Age.
Male fishmongers back Trump over Harris by a stunning 82 percent to 12 percent in the poll. The results are more limited for female fishmongers, with Trump beating her by just 37 percent to 34 percent.
Trump Makes Big Gains Among Reptile Owners and Pet Fish Keepers
Single, Never Married Women With Cats Endorse Kamala Harris By An Overwhelming Margin
Birds of a feather flock together: There are distinctions by pet and by gender in the animal results
It’s fitting for a candidate who repeatedly tells a parable about a snake at his rallies: Men who own reptiles support Trump 67-22.
Harris leads the female reptile owner category, with a 39-34 ratio. Trump, the first president in years not to own a pet, also beats her out in the small mammal owner category.
At two pet stores in Genesee County, Michigan, a state taken over by Joe Biden in 2020, the data is all but confirmed.
Mitch Ryan, of Grand Blanc, has a Boston terrier-French poodle mix, a high-end animal favored by some celebrities. He likes Trump’s candor.
“Maybe he doesn’t think before he speaks. I can’t say he’s a liar, I really can’t. He doesn’t just blow smoke down your throat.
“I enjoy honesty, and frankly, I’d rather have someone who’s honest than someone who’s just plain dishonest,” he says.
Ryan wishes Trump and Vance would not talk about people eating pets or “childless cat ladies,” which has become a key campaign slogan.
“I wish she hadn’t said anything,” he said, calling it “low-hanging fruit” that could be used against them. Not that he’s ready to write off the rumor entirely. (Another DailyMail.com poll by JL Partners found that a third of voters believe the rumor that Haitians eat cats and dogs.)
“I’m sure there are a lot of reports of people saying this is happening. Is there any evidence? Not much at the moment.”
Mitch Ryan, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, who owns a Boston terrier-French poodle mix, appreciates Trump’s candor but says he sometimes “doesn’t think before he speaks.”
Michigan cat owner Joanne Stevenson has bucked the demographic trend and is a fervent Trump supporter. “I feel like he’s still my president,” she said as she went shopping for her calico cat
John Tomlin spends thousands of dollars each year filling his 90-gallon tank. He’s all for shark skeptic Donald Trump
Dog owner Donny Russo plans to cast his first vote for Trump in November. But he was only tempted by dog treats that looked like Trump or President Joe Biden
Fish owner John Tomlin spends thousands of dollars each year stocking his 90-gallon aquarium, giving him a keen sense of government affairs.
He says Trump has some shortcomings, but he supports him anyway.
“Trump is a businessman. He’s an idiot when he speaks, but he’s a businessman.”
His comment was echoed by a Harris supporter who heard him speak.
“Thank you for saying that,” she said.
“He can talk for a reason. He’s the worst person to talk. But when it comes to running the country, he knows what he’s doing when he’s running the company,” Tomlin continued. “You can see that. Does he find loopholes and all that? He sure does.”
Not every cat owner is on Harris’ side. One of those supporting Trump is Joanne Stevenson, who came to buy a new collar for her diluted calico cat — a breed that is not black.
“He’s done a lot for our country and I don’t believe he’s ever lost. I feel like he’s still my president. I don’t think Biden is,” she said, echoing Trump’s false claims, repeated this week in Michigan, that he didn’t lose the state in 2020.
“He’s a pain in the ass,” she said of Biden. “Look at how we go through everything: You go to the grocery store, everything was always higher and higher and higher.”
If Vance’s comments about “cat ladies” bothered her, Stevenson said not. “I like him. So I’m not going to say anything bad about him,” she said.
Donny Russo is 22 and will be able to vote for the first time in November.
His dogs, a Doberman Pinscher named Asia and a German Shepherd/Labrador cross named Zoe, have a bad reputation, but his main concern is keeping the peace in the US.
“Whoever doesn’t want to get us into another war or get us killed, I support them,” he said. For Russo, that’s Trump, who repeatedly says he can keep the country out of World War III.
He said too many politicians “are afraid to tell the truth because of the consequences. And it seems like Trump is not afraid of that. You know, if he tells the truth, he could potentially get killed for it,” he said, referring to the latest assassination attempt.
There’s one metric in store that isn’t as scientific as the DailyMail poll, but it could still provide some clues about the political leanings of pet owners in a state where opinions vary widely.
A box of squeaky dog chews in the shape of Trump and Biden for sale. According to store clerks, the idea is for customers to buy the candidate you despise so the animal can chew it up.
There hasn’t been time to stock up on Kamala Harris chews. But on Wednesday, there were 12 of Trump and 13 of Biden. That gave the Democrat the edge, at least in this pet store.