I agree that anyone who identifies solidly as an informed Democrat would not have voted for Trump. Here in Broward County where I live, we had a good turnout. But a friend who has been a poll worker in the same precinct for years told me he saw many, many white men also show up to vote that he had never seen before. I think that probably happened everywhere.
It may be too soon to say this, and I'm new to this site so it's probably been said before, but Hillary seemed to trigger everything that would get the blue collar male independent out to vote against her. I think a lot of people felt, including myself to a degree, that the private email server was also about entitlement, something I think a lot of people felt about her. By entitlement, I mean it appeared she was planning to be candidate for the Presidency all along while at State and she didn't want anything she did there to come out through the FOIA that would hurt her chances. The Podesta emails also oozed entitlement, quite frankly. My Congresswoman (DNC Chair) and her emails fit that narrative. Bill meeting with the USAG spoke volumes about a sense of entitlement. Even the way that the primaries proceeded, with little opposition except Sanders, felt like the party had ordained her eight years earlier, regardless of whether that was in fact true. Her big money donors, her mixing of Foundation and government. Entitlement, entitlement. All overblown? Maybe, but it fit a narrative that she just didn't have the demeanor to shake.
So I hate to say this, but I think the "Party of the People" felt like the new "Party of the Elite" in this election to many who are not committed to the Democratic Party. Trump somehow wrangled the title of populist and Hillary just was the wrong candidate to counter that.
= new reply since forum marked as read