What percentage of voters just wants to be on the winning side?

[Alhena]

That's a political question I've wondered about for years, in many elections.

For months and months, Hillary seemed inevitable, and I'm convinced that there is a significant number of people who got on board her team just to be on the winning side. But now anyone cheering for Hillary will have had a rough go of it the last several days and it will only get rougher on Tuesday. I expect that many of them have decided they are tired of rooting for a loser and are now firmly on board the Obama bandwagon or will be after Tuesday.

How many voters fall in this category is unclear to me, and the Wisconsin primaries on February 19 should tell the tale. Hillary was up by 10 points in Wisconsin prior to yesterday's results, and it will be interesting to see how many voters Obama wins just based on his recent victories.

[More Than A Feeling]

1. Eventually most of us will be in that category.

Everyone who has committed to support the nominee has essentially pledged to be on their side because they won, if for no other reason.

[Alhena]

3. We Democrats will- I expect most independents will switch to McCain

if Obama loses, especially if it's some inside party machine deal, which is starting to look like the only way he can lose.

[rpannier]

2. I would say nationally it's around 1/3 of the people who vote

Those are the people who know little-to-nothing about the candidates because they're too busy watching TiVo re-runs of American Idol and some other tripe for the 1000th time.

These are the band wagon jumpers. The guy who tells you he's been a NY Giants fan his whole life (he tells you this the day after the Super Bowl). Yet, last season (after the Super Bowl) he was telling everyone how he's been a Colts fan since they were in "Whatever city they used to be in."

There are people who always have to be associated with winners.

[Fresh_Start]

4. most likely most of the superdelegates

because they are not called politicians for making a stand

[pscot]

5. I would say 60%

maybe higher. People want to be part of the crowd. It's way easier than thinking.