Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, addresses the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee on Aug. 28 in Minneapolis.
Photo Credit: Jim Mone/AP
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump (left) and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders celebrate their respective wins in New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 2016.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Editor's note: This story was originally published March 14, 2016, at 7:33 p.m. EST. It was updated to include the survey's methodology.
In an exclusive survey of American military personnel, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders emerged as active-duty service members' top choices to become the next commander in chief.
The Republican front runner Trump was the most popular candidate among currently serving readers in a subscriber poll that closed Monday morning, polled last week, with 27 percent saying they would back the business mogul if the election were was held tomorrow. Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was a close second at 22 percent, besting Trump among Navy and Air Force respondents. (See the service-by-service breakdown below.)
The results — based on responses from 931 active-duty troops, reservists and members of the National Guard — do not offer a scientific status of military voting preferences. However, they do show that the outsider candidates’ messages are resonating with individuals in uniform; noncommissioned officers, who fill leadership roles at the small unit level, and with the officers and enlisted personnel who are on track to spend full careers in the service. the ranks.
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers.
Photo Credit: Military Times subscriber survey
The data suggest that military personnel have not been dissuaded by political rivals who contend Trump and Sanders have the pair of the pair from their rivals for weak foreign policy credentials and don't have recognized experts as non-traditional national security advisers aren’t dissuading military members interested in their campaigns.
Nearly half of the service members individuals surveyed also said they were unhappy with the discussion of national security issues in the presidential race so far. Fewer than five 5 percent were "very satisfied" with how much the topic has been broached, while 45 percent said they were mostly or very dissatisfied.
Florida Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has made national security issues one of the centerpieces of his campaign, was nearly last saw only about 9 percent support in the Military Times survey, with only about 9 percent of candidates favoring him. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had almost double that, with 17 percent support. Those surveyed offered only slightly more support for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent) than potential third-party candidates (6 percent).
Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton received a little more than 11 percent backing. Those surveyed offered only slightly more support for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent) than potential third-party candidates (6 percent).
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., waves during a campaign stop on Sunday, March 13, 2016, at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Photo Credit: Matt Rourke/AP
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks about Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at a Dec. 14 rally in Las Vegas.
Photo Credit: John Locher/AP
About half of the respondents in the survey were enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in the pay grades held ranks of E-4 through E-7. Among officers, Trump still lead the field but by a much smaller margin, with his 21 percent slightly outpacing Cruz at 18 percent, Sanders at 16 percent and Clinton at 15 percent.
Almost a third of those surveyed do not affiliate with either the Republican or Democratic parties. Sanders was more popular than Trump among that group, but one in seven of those individuals indicated they plan on backing a third-party candidate.
Trump also appears to be the most polarizing of all the candidates, with several dozen respondents, in a comments section of the poll, calling him dangerous for the military and the country. Three individuals polled said they'd leave the service if he becomes commander-in-chief.
The former head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, received one write-in vote in the poll. Mattis, who retired in 2013, is revered among many rank-and-file troops for his unapologetic frankness with the military's civilian leaders, particularly when it came to debating the harsh realities of waging war.
Mattis was asked about his political aspirations during a speech last summer, and politely put the matter to rest.
SERVICE BY SERVICEA closer look at Military Times' survey results, by branch of service:
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers.
Photo Credit: Military Times subscriber survey
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers.
Photo Credit: Military Times subscriber survey
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers.
Photo Credit: Military Times subscriber survey
Notes: The survey was conducted March 9-14. About 64 percent of respondents identified as enlisted personnel, and 36 percent identified as officers.
Photo Credit: Military Times subscriber survey
OUR METHODOLOGY How the survey was conducted
Between March 9 and March 14, Military Times conducted a voluntary, confidential survey of subscribers who include verified active-duty, National Guard and reserve component service members. More than 59,000 subscribers received e-mail invitations to participate. In total, 931 respondents completed the survey.
The sample is not a perfect representation of the military as a whole; it over-represents Army personnel, officers and noncommissioned officers, and under-represents junior enlisted personnel. However, it is representative of the more senior and career-oriented members of the force who run the military's day-to-day operations and carry out its policies.
The voluntary nature of this survey, the dependence on e-mail and the characteristics of Military Times readers may affect the results. Statistical margins of error commonly reported in opinion polls that use random sampling can't be calculated for this survey.
Trump also appears to be the most polarizing of all the candidates, with several dozen respondents, in a comments section of the poll, calling him dangerous for the military and the country. Three individuals polled said they'd leave the service if he becomes commander-in-chief.
The former head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, received one write-in vote in the poll. Mattis, who retired in 2013, is revered among many rank-and-file troops for his unapologetic frankness with the military's civilian leaders, particularly when it came to debating the harsh realities of waging war.
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at lshane@militarytimes.com.
George Altman covers military transition issues, education and post-separation employment and entrepreneurship for Military Times. He can be reached at galtman@militarytimes.com.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
