Growing population in America’s highly educated enclaves has led to huge gains for the Democratic Party. And it’s changing the electoral map going into 2024.
30% of 18-29 year olds voted in the last election, while almost 70% of seniors (65+) voted.
So this article might be claiming that Republicans are losing a war against college towns, which basically is a war against young people, but if those young people don’t bother to vote, it can’t be that big of a loss for the GOP.
That’s true, but you also have to consider that the 65+ block is a smaller chunk of the population, currently pegged at 16.8% whereas 18 to 44 accounts for 35.9%. The moves the GOP are making are definitely upsetting the 30-somethings too, especially since they have been on the student loan treadmill for over a decade in a lot of cases. Depending on where you look (my quick glance was from Pew) the millennial voting block was roughly equal to the 65+ in sheer count. It just makes zero logical sense to keep pushing way past the point of diminishing returns on trying to get more of the boomer vote at the cost of nearly every other demographic.
It just makes zero logical sense to keep pushing way past the point of diminishing returns on trying to get more of the boomer vote at the cost of nearly every other demographic.
And yet that is what the GOP is doing because they know seniors are a dependable block that will go out and vote for them.
Based on your numbers, seniors represent roughly 50M people and when 70% of them vote, that’s 35M people. And a whole hell of a lot of them are Red.
18-44 year olds represent 108M people, but if only about 30% of them vote, then that’s only 32M people. That is less than what the seniors represent at the polls but more importantly, I guarantee you that there are FAR more divisions in that younger group than there are with Seniors. A FAR lower percentage of them vote Blue.
So by the math, what Republicans are doing is the right thing to do simply because young people just don’t vote. Americans are our own worst enemy.
That may be true, but what the article was really trying to point out was how increases in these college areas (and therefore college aged voters) is starting to make a big difference. The example they gave was that, at least in the most recent election, the area around Madison used to cancel out the red suburbs around Milwaukee, but now Madison is so strongly liberal that they out weigh those suburbs and therefore tip the scales in favor of Dems. If this trend continues, and if the Dems can replicate it in other swing states (big “if”), then it could change the way politics are played in America.
30% of 18-29 year olds voted in the last election, while almost 70% of seniors (65+) voted.
So this article might be claiming that Republicans are losing a war against college towns, which basically is a war against young people, but if those young people don’t bother to vote, it can’t be that big of a loss for the GOP.
That’s true, but you also have to consider that the 65+ block is a smaller chunk of the population, currently pegged at 16.8% whereas 18 to 44 accounts for 35.9%. The moves the GOP are making are definitely upsetting the 30-somethings too, especially since they have been on the student loan treadmill for over a decade in a lot of cases. Depending on where you look (my quick glance was from Pew) the millennial voting block was roughly equal to the 65+ in sheer count. It just makes zero logical sense to keep pushing way past the point of diminishing returns on trying to get more of the boomer vote at the cost of nearly every other demographic.
We old now. Millennials aren’t young voters and they aren’t trending conservative.
My job here is done.
My kids are millennias l:)
And yet that is what the GOP is doing because they know seniors are a dependable block that will go out and vote for them.
Based on your numbers, seniors represent roughly 50M people and when 70% of them vote, that’s 35M people. And a whole hell of a lot of them are Red.
18-44 year olds represent 108M people, but if only about 30% of them vote, then that’s only 32M people. That is less than what the seniors represent at the polls but more importantly, I guarantee you that there are FAR more divisions in that younger group than there are with Seniors. A FAR lower percentage of them vote Blue.
So by the math, what Republicans are doing is the right thing to do simply because young people just don’t vote. Americans are our own worst enemy.
That may be true, but what the article was really trying to point out was how increases in these college areas (and therefore college aged voters) is starting to make a big difference. The example they gave was that, at least in the most recent election, the area around Madison used to cancel out the red suburbs around Milwaukee, but now Madison is so strongly liberal that they out weigh those suburbs and therefore tip the scales in favor of Dems. If this trend continues, and if the Dems can replicate it in other swing states (big “if”), then it could change the way politics are played in America.