'Party of the professional-managerial class?': Share of college grads voting Democrat rises dramatically
Democrats are winning a growing share of voters with advanced college degrees.
In the 2020 election, Democrats carried 84 out of the 100 highest-educated counties in America.
Data from the 2020 election indicate that college-educated voters skew overwhelmingly toward voting for Democrats than any other time in recent history.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden carried 84 out of 100 counties, with the largest share of residents holding a bachelor’s degree or greater.
The Democratic Party is rapidly becoming the Party of the professional-managerial class. pic.twitter.com/mxm0bvuqxD
— Ben Winegard 🌲🌲 (@BenWinegard) November 24, 2020
The analysis, which is based upon the United States Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey, also shows that the votes of counties with the most advanced college degree holders have shifted rapidly toward Democratic candidates.
In 1980, Republicans won 76 out of these 100 counties. Democrats won 24. The tide shifted in the 1990s, when Democrats began winning a majority of these counties. By 2008, Republicans began winning approximately one-quarter or less of the counties.
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Likewise, a June report from Pew Research Center found that “Democrats increasingly dominate in party identification among white college graduates,” while “Republicans increasingly dominate in party affiliation among white non-college voters.”
In terms of party affiliation, Democrats hold a 49-point lead over Republicans among urban Northeasterners, in addition to a 28-point lead among college-educated women.
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Hillsdale College psychology professor Benjamin Winegard, who tweeted that the Democratic Party “is rapidly becoming the Party of the professional-managerial class,” told Campus Reform that, in his view, the trend toward increasing Democratic dominance among college-educated voters “has to do with broad cultural affinities that are shared among most college-educated people,” especially those younger than 50.
“For example, such individuals tend to be cosmopolitan in outlook; favorable toward myriad forms of diversity; and tolerant of members of outgroups, including foreigners,” Winegard said. “Those who are highly educated tend also to be secular, open to social and cultural change, and what we might call ‘woke.’”
“It’s not terribly surprising that individuals who possess these values would find the Republican Party problematic,” he added.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
