Axios Event: Politics can influence who swipes right

WASHINGTON – Some gen Z and millennials lie about their political beliefs on the first date, according to recent research conducted by The Harris Poll.

Why it matters: The intersection of politics and dating has become increasingly more prominent as 1 in 4 people will start with politics on the first date, said The Harris Poll chief strategy officer Libby Rodney.

• The details: Axios hosted an evening reception focused on the politics of dating, which was sponsored by Match Group and Tinder.

The intrigue: Women in particular feel like they cannot ask men about politics because they will not give a straightforward answer, Rodney said.

• "What [women are] doing instead is asking proximity questions like, 'how do you feel about Covid? What's your point of view on Travis Kelce?' And depending on how you respond to those, they can indicate where your real beliefs are on that spectrum," said Rodney.
• Rodney noted that half of women would rather be single than settle for someone with opposing political beliefs. "The single lady movement is real and people are here for it."

Content creator and ClockoutDC founder Jade Womack discussed how single people are no longer wanting to go to events labeled as "single events" because of the unbalanced gender ratio that typically happens.

• Instead, Womack says people are finding more "subtle" ways to meet others in real life, like run clubs.
• "With these in-person experiences, you kind of have that vibe check from the other person who's there, it's a sense of community," said Womack.

• "It's a different kind of pressure. It's low stakes…And so people want to go towards those."

Content from sponsored segment below:

In a View From the Top conversation, Tinder chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley highlighted recent poll findings which showed singles in the U.S. are an important voting bloc.

• "We are seeing so many interesting things about voting right now. It's hot to vote."
• "Women want to know what you believe in. They want to know what you're passionate about. People want to know if you're voting…A big turnoff is if they're not even voting, if they don't know what's happening in their local elections."