Early Exit Poll Returns: Just Get It Over With

In a poll released midday Tuesday by Morning Consult and Politico, "just want it to be over" was the response that summed up their feelings chosen by 85% of those surveyed.

That was according to a poll of 6,785 early voters as well as early Election Day voters.

"Happy" came in dead last at 25%, with "proud" second to last at 29%.

Second on the list was "anxious" (72%), followed by "nervous" (71%), "angry" (53%)—obviously they got to pick more than one feeling—"sad" (50%), "overwhelmed" (48%) and "depressed" (39%).

The candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, had high negatives and the campaign could be described similarly, arguably led by Trump's "lying Hillary" approach to campaigning and Clinton's attack ad responses drawing from a virtual library of Trump comments about women, immigrants, journalists and Vladimir Putin.

Adding to the gloom and doom tone, according to the poll, 44% said the country's financial situation is worse off than it was four years ago, with 32% saying it was better. The poll was conducted Oct. 18-Nov. 8. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1%.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.