Mariano Rajoy already said it: “It is the neighbor who chooses the mayor, and it is the mayor who wants the neighbors to be the mayor.” The hilarious phrase of the former President of the Government illustrates a reality: the closeness between voters and candidates for Mayor; In a close policy like the municipal one, the person matters more than the initials. On average, close to 6 out of 10 citizens (57.8%) acknowledge that when it comes to choosing their vote in the municipal elections, the candidate himself weighs more than the party to which he belongs, compared to 32.1% who prioritize political formation to the mayoral candidate.
The conclusions are drawn from the survey carried out by Simple Lógica for elDiario.es which, on the other hand, reveals that in the case of regional elections –such as those that will also take place on May 28 in 12 communities– the scheme is invests: for a majority – 49.2% compared to 39.3% – the party weighs more than the candidate when it comes to opting for one or another political option.
Returning to the municipal ones, the survey shows how the choice of the ballot based on the candidate or candidate against a partisan preference is a constant among voters of all political formations. It is striking that the trend is especially high among those who supported Ciudadanos in the last elections, a formation that has suffered severe wear and tear in recent years, disappearing from various territories and for which polls predict a new collapse in this cycle. electoral.
The 67% of the voters who in the last generals voted for the formation that calls itself “liberal” takes the mayoral candidate more into account than the party when they go to the polls, compared to 30.5% who prioritize the initials. The percentage is also especially high in the case of those who in 2019 supported the PP. 63.7% prioritize the candidate for mayor over the party. In the case of United Podemos voters, the figure drops to 62.2%, among those of the PSOE it is 59.3% and, in the case of those who supported Vox, 50.4%. The trend is repeated among those who opted to abstain in the general elections (57.5% vote more for the candidate than for the party) and among those under 18 years of age (57.8%).
On the other hand, the percentages are inverted if the Spaniards are asked about the aspect based on which they decide their vote in the regional elections. 49.2% of those surveyed ensure that when choosing the composition of their regional parliament, the party weighs more than the candidate, compared to 39.3% who maintain the opposite. By memory of vote, it is the voters of Unidas Podemos who take the acronyms into account the most when casting their votes in some regional ones. 59.4% of those who in 2019 supported the confederal group are guided more by political affiliation than by the presidential figure when deciding which ballot to put in the ballot box.
Loyalty to the party before some regional ones is also notable in the case of Vox voters (58.3% prioritize the initials compared to 37.2% who focus more on the candidate) and PSOE (52.5% compared to 38.7%) and is less pronounced in the case of those Spaniards who voted for the PP in the general elections. Among the latter, 47.9% vote based on the party and 46.1% do so paying more attention to the candidate. On the other hand, both the voters of Ciudadanos and those who in 2019 opted for abstention say they pay more attention to the candidate to preside over their community than to a political force when they vote in some regional ones.
Despite the harshness of the public debate in the Congress of Deputies, the polarization of state politics and the constant confrontation between ideological blocs at the national level, another of the conclusions drawn from the Simple Lógica survey is that the state framework does not it is the one that most influences voters when it comes to voting both in municipal elections and in regional ones such as those that will take place on 28M. With a wide margin, 7 out of 10 citizens (76.5%) take local politics more into account than national politics in municipal ones, a percentage that drops to 60.4% in the case of regional ones.
By parties, 80.6% of the voters of the PSOE, 73.7% of those who supported the PP, 73.6% of those of Vox, 82.4% of those of Unidas Podemos and up to 89, 2% of those from Ciudadanos will take regional or local politics more into account than national politics when they choose the ballot in the municipal elections on May 28. The trend is the same among citizens who did not vote in the 2019 general elections and among those under 18 years of age.
Although with a somewhat less pronounced margin, this electoral logic of leaving national politics in the background when it comes to going to the polls is repeated when Spaniards are asked what will weigh more when they go to vote in those autonomous communities that will renew their respective regional chambers on May 28. On average, 60.2% acknowledge that they will take regional or local politics more into account compared to only 29.3% who will choose based on the national political debate.
This preference is expressed by voters from the five major political spaces in the country, although it is especially pronounced in the case of Spaniards who supported Ciudadanos in 2019 – 66.2% confess that they prioritize regional politics in the autonomous communities, compared to 25, 8% who say they vote more for what happens at the state level–, followed by those who voted for United We Can (64.9% vs. 28.8%), PSOE (63.7% vs. 28.2%), PP (53.1% – 41.4%) and Vox (50.5% – 45%).
