The 55-year-old Angela Hammontree describes herself as being “pro-gun, pro-Bible, and pro-Trump.”
But when it comes to love, that can be problematic for her.
“The first person I dated after my divorce seemed like a great guy. And then I found out he was a freaking Democrat!” Ms. Hammontree recalled.
They dated for three months before splitting up one month ahead of the 2020 presidential election in November.
“I couldn’t stand it any longer. I really liked the guy. But I just don’t feel like a relationship can go very far without those same political views,” she asserted.
To ensure she won’t be dining with a Democrat, she now checks voter registrations on Google before dates.
Research indicates that Ms. Hammontree’s perspective on partnerships is not unique. 86% of Americans believe it has been tougher to date someone who favors the opposition political party, according to a 2020 YouGov/Economist poll.
According to experts, one of the key elements of love nowadays is who you vote for.
For singletons who reside in areas where they are the political minority, the dilemma is particularly acute across generations.
For instance, it is a well-known fact that young people who worked in the Donald Trump White House struggled to find love in liberal Washington, DC.
Former Trump White House adviser Daniel Huff reportedly went on a date, ordered drinks, and discovered himself by himself before they even came. His date had discovered Mr. Huff’s workplace during that little period. She quickly made her way out.
He and another former Trump worker John McEntee were motivated by that experience to start the exclusive dating app The Right Stuff earlier this month.
“Conservatives in liberal areas are totally discriminated against. They’re made to feel on their own. Totally alienated,” Mr. McEntee grumbled.
Users must provide normal information during registration, such as their height and gender. However, users can choose to answer questions like:
- A random fact I love about America
- My favorite liberal lie
- My favorite conservative pundit
- January 6th was…
To join, a user needs to be invited. This should prevent leftists from using the program and perhaps harming it for serious users.
The dating scene is as difficult for liberal women in conservative regions of the nation.
In the deep red state of Idaho, Nora Murphy, 32, spent a few years experimenting with dating. Given her political minority status, Ms. Murphy made an effort to engage conservative men in her community.
“We’d be getting along great and then politics would come up and it was clear it just wasn’t going to work out,” she explained.
She ultimately wed a Romanian.
“Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years,” one sign of America’s tremendous polarization is the dating split. The Pew Research Center claims.
Additionally, a CBS poll conducted last month revealed that the majority of Democrats and Republicans saw the opposition party as an “enemy” rather than as political rivals.
Ms. Hammontree, who resides in Canton, Ohio, acknowledged that her opinions on dating and politics had only recently changed. She has been a Republican her entire life, but she doesn’t recall caring as much when she was younger.
“I don’t think I would’ve thought about it as much of a deal-breaker then,” she asserted.
According to researchers, as more singles choose spouses who share their political views, their children will inherit those similar views. “This has the potential to amplify polarisation through the creation of homogenous social networks and households,” a 2017 study affirmed.
According to Rose McDermott, a political psychologist at Cornell University, a trend of liberals and conservatives residing in groups of their political tribe has intensified in recent years.
According to Dr. McDermott, the story of a sharply divided modern America is accurate, both in terms of the dating scene and society at large.
“I don’t think it’s overblown. I think it’s getting worse,” she said.
Reference:
Jason Armesto, Bbc News, (2022 October 25th). “Politics increasingly a deal-breaker on US dating scene”: Angela Hammontree, 55, considers herself very conservative – “pro-gun, pro-Bible, pro-Trump.
