Who'd They Vote For: 'Mad Men'
The characters in Mad Men have always been keenly aware of both culture and politics, at times displaying insights into our society so profound that people from all sides of the political spectrum can't help but use Med Men quotes to write douchey Facebook statuses. It's a great unifier in that way, but it also got us to thinking, "Who would the characters in Mad Men have voted for today?" Chances are no one, as the alcohol and cigarette consumption would have this collection of walking PSAs in the ground before the '80s were done, but if they were able-bodied and alive in 2020, here's how we think the votes would go.
Don - Trump
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This one's easy. Not only would Donald Draper be a Trump supporter, but he'd also probably have donated a few thousand to the campaign. This guy worked on the Nixon campaign and said, "When I see Nixon, I see myself."
But then factor in how Don Draper would be 94 if he were alive today, and you've got this one pretty much locked up. Republicans have historically crushed it with white voters over 65, and while Joe Biden might now be changing that, Don Draper has all the other demographics Trump kills it with as well. Trump's military disrespect wouldn't even bother him, as "Don" stole a dead soldier's identity to escape active service. If Don Draper isn't voting Trump, then no one is.
Joan - Biden (Voted Marianne Williamson in the primary)
Another easy one. When we last see Joan, she's moving to California to start her own film company. By now, she's fully entrenched in Hollywood politics and owns a small stake in Goop. While she might not love everything about Joe Biden, her own experiences with sexual assault by rich scumbags probably have her absolutely despising Donald Trump. You will likely find her posting on her grandkid's Facebook page, getting into arguments, and telling their friends that they need to shut up about Bernie already.
Peggy - Biden
The demographics alone put an 81-year-old Peggy as a slight Trump favorite. She's a white woman with a Catholic upbringing -- White women famously went for Trump in 2016 as did Catholics. However, this year the Catholic vote is up for grabs, and Peggy's complicated views around Catholicism and abortion puts Peggy most likely to the left of whatever the Catholic vote ends up being.
We're not saying Peggy is going to canvass for AOC anytime soon. She's an ad exec. Capitalism is her lifeblood. But she's also a working woman in one of the most liberal cities in America. If Peggy kept advancing at McCann Erickson, then the DNC chair probably has her on speed dial.
Roger - (Deceased, but his daughter finances the Lincoln Project)
Roger would obviously be a Trump voter, but imagining him still alive in 2020 at the age of 104 with his history of health issues feels like a stretch of the imagination beyond the capabilities of this thought experiment. Maybe if he were cryogenically frozen in the 1980s and then reawakened today to cast his vote, it would be possible, but we're fairly sure that one listen to "WAP" on the radio would stop his heart before he even made it to the polling booth.
That said, we can imagine Roger's daughter, Margaret, to be a centrist Republican in 2020 who votes Biden (and might have voted Clinton in 2016 as well). Margaret has flirted with leftist ideals in the past -- we last see her living on a commune in the "The Monolith" -- but she's also an older, wealthy New York socialite with a deep reliance on her own family money and deep ties to Republican politics. If Margaret ever left that commune, then she probably moved back home, remarried, and used whatever trust fund money and inheritance she had left (not much) to keep herself buoyant in the social scene.
Pete - Trump (But he tells you, Biden)
Pete's modus operandi has always been to care what others think, which is silly because regardless of what he does, people can only see him for his incredibly punchable face. Still, Pete is all about optics, and to all of his family and friends back home living in the upper West Side, voting for Trump could be a stain on his reputation. But we also have to consider that Pete no longer lives in New York. By series end, he moved to Wichita, Kansas and his views likely grew even more conservative. Wichita went for Clinton in 2016. Then consider his own demographic (he'd by 86 today), and his, let's say clumsiness, in regards to race ...
... and it's hard not to see this guy voting for Trump.
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Top Image: AMC
