The revolt of the “normies”

AMERICAN pollsters and political consultants are known for the colourful terms they coin to help them detect electoral trends by identifying certain demographic groups.

The classic example would be “soccer moms”, which came into widespread use during the 1996 presidential election and referred to middle-class suburban women who spent a significant amount of their time transporting their school-age children to sporting events, and who had favoured then Democrat president Bill Clinton by a large margin over his Republican challenger Bob Dole.

Another way to identify voters would be by their proximity to either Whole Foods, a supermarket that caters to upscale and educated Americans who lean heavily to the Democrats, or to Chick-fil-A, a fast-food restaurant chain that is popular in the South and in rural areas – parts of the country tend to be “red” or Republican.