Democratic Support Among Young People Reaches a Record High

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As more senior citizens are becoming Republicans, Gallup found that younger voters are supporting Democrats in record numbers.

Here are a few of the choice findings from Gallup:

From 1993 to 2003, 47% of 18- to 29-year-olds, on average, identified as Democrats or said they were independents but leaned to the Democratic Party, while 42% were Republicans or Republican leaners. That time span included two years in which young adults tilted Republican, 1994 and 1995, when Republicans won control of Congress. Since 2006, the average gap in favor of the Democratic Party among young adults has been 18 percentage points, 54% to 36%.

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This Democratic movement among the young has come at a time when senior citizens have become more Republican

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Recent decades have brought significant shifts in Americans’ political allegiances, in the short term and the long term. While young adults have generally been more likely to align themselves with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, they are now much more solidly Democratic than prior generations of young adults.

Gallup suggests that the hardening support for Democrats among young people is at least partially based on the fact that the country is more racially and ethnically diverse. Democrats have embraced the changing face of the country, while Republicans have become even whiter.

It has long been believed that, as people age, they get more conservative, but over the past 20 years, young people have been aging and staying with the Democratic Party. This shift helps explain how Democrats have won the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections.

Young people turn out in higher numbers in presidential years. This a problem that Democrats are working day and night to solve before the 2014 election. The key to sustained success for Democrats is activating a portion of these young supporters. If younger voters get into the habit of voting in midterm elections, the Republican Party will be in huge trouble.

As grandma goes tea partying, the country’s future is supporting Democrats more than ever. This is why if Republicans can’t rock the vote, they are going to do all that they can to suppress it.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association