The GOP's Growing Loss of Younger Voters

As noted many times on this blog, the Republican Party, both nationally and certainly here in Virginia, has increasingly become the party of angry whites, particularly white religious extremists (i.e., conservative Christians and evangelicals), white supremacists and racists of other varied stripes.  Long term, this concentration is nothing short of a death wish as these demographic groups die off and/or become a smaller segment of the overall population.  A column in the New York Times looks at the phenomenon and the GOP's growing inability to attract younger voters.  Here are column excerpts:

Older voters and younger voters used to be largely on the same page when they went to the polls. No more.

 

Gallup released two reports about the split this week. The first was called “U.S. Seniors Have Realigned With the Republican Party,” and the second was “Young Americans’ Affinity for Democratic Party Has Grown.”

The numbers were striking. Until the age of Obama, Democrats had an ideological leg up among Americans 65 and older. Then those voters shifted to give the Republicans an advantage. That advantage has held, although it’s shrinking.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, Republicans haven’t held an ideological advantage among Americans ages 18-29 since 1995.

The last time a Republican won the 18-29-year-old vote in a presidential election was 1988, when 52 percent voted for George H.W. Bush over Democrat Michael Dukakis, who carried only 10 states and the District of Columbia.

Since pollsters began compiling records of voting by age, the only time that Republicans have won the 18-29-year-old vote nationwide in the races for the House of Representatives was in 1994

Part of the reason for the Democratic swing among young people is the incredible diversity of the group. Gallup estimates that 45 percent of Americans 18-29 are nonwhite. But that doesn’t account for all of the change. As Gallup put it:

“Young adults are not more Democratic solely because they are more racially diverse. In recent years, young white adults, who previously aligned more with the Republican Party, have shifted Democratic.

This should come as welcome news to Democrats and as another reason for fear among Republicans.

Furthermore, since 2004 in presidential elections, young Americans’ share of the vote has inched up as older Americans’ share has fallen. Still, the diversity target is easy and tempting, so Republicans are aggressively pushing voter ID laws.. . . . Racial bias — sometimes subtle, always sinister — is alive and well.
The wave of demographic change and the liberal leaning of the young can’t be held back indefinitely through obstruction and aggression. A change is coming, and it’s blue.