Demographics May Be Destiny — But Not One Political Direction

 

 

 

 

” Demography is destiny, we are often told, and rightly—up to a point. The American electorate is made up of multiple identifiable segments, defined in various ways, by race and ethnicity, by age cohort, by region and religiosity (or lack thereof), by economic status and interest.

  Over time, some segments become larger and some smaller. Some prove to be politically crucial, given the political alignments of the time. Others become irrelevant as they lose cohesion and identity.

  From the results of the 2008 presidential election, many pundits prophesied a bleak future for the Republican Party, and not implausibly.

  The exit poll showed that President Obama carried by overwhelming margins two demographic segments that were bound to become a larger share of the electorate over time.

  He carried Hispanics 67 to 31 percent, despite Republican opponent John McCain‘s support of comprehensive immigration legislation. Obama carried voters under 30–the so-called Millennial Generation –by 66 to 32 percent.

  But over time, Democrats’ hold on these groups has weakened. In Gallup polls, Obama’s job approval among Hispanics declined from 75 percent in 2012 to 52 in 2013 and among Millennials from 61 percent in 2012 to 46 percent in 2013.

  The recent Harvard Institute of Politics poll of Millennials showed Democrats with a big party identification edge among those over 25, but ahead of Republicans by only 41 to 38 percent among those 18 to 20.

  The older Millennials came of political age during the late George W. Bush years and were transfixed by the glamor of candidate Obama in 2008.”

 

 

Read the whole Examiner piece and see why the Dem’s celebration may be premature .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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