February 3, 2023 - 7:30am
The increased dominance of college-educated white people in the Democratic Party poses a major threat to party cohesion, a new paper argues.
Democrats are now more likely to be dominated by college-educated whites, whose progressive political priorities diverge from the more socially conservative non-white wing of the party. Due to their high levels of political participation and wealth, the remaining white Democrats will have an outsize influence on the direction of the party and its agenda.
By prioritising “post-material moral issues” like climate change, January 6th and immigration amnesty, argues researcher Zach Goldberg, Democratic elites risk ignoring “kitchen-table issues” like crime, inflation and gas prices. This creates an “awkward paradox” for the leadership because the Democrats are expected to become a majority-minority Party in the near future.
In 2020, for the first time on record, the college-educated white share (27.3%) of Democrats exceeded that of non-college-educated whites (25.2%), but it is the former group that wields the most influence in the Party. One reason Goldberg lists is white Democrats’ higher level of political knowledge and participation than other racial groups, which is illustrated by the table below. Higher levels of political attention give white Democrats a “first-mover advantage” on political issues, which allows them a greater say in shaping public opinion and outcomes:
In conjunction with this finding, white voters are also more likely to donate to the Party, giving them an ear with Democratic bigwigs. These donors are typically “far more” liberal on social issues like capital gun control and abortion as well as globalism (i.e. immigration and free trade), and this access won’t be disappearing anytime soon: “at existing rates,” Goldberg writes, “it could take hundreds of years before whites no longer constitute the majority of large Democratic donors”.
Over the coming years and decades, these trends are expected to endure, if not intensify. Between 2020-22, the chasm in the Party only widened further, which became evident during the 2022 House midterms when Democrats were asked about their single most important issue. Here white Democrats were around three times as likely (34.6%) as nonwhite Democrats (11.5%) to say abortion or climate change whereas nonwhite Democrats were nearly twice as likely (44.5%) as their white counterparts (25.6%) to select economic issues like inflation or taxes.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeAccording to Cornpop Joe, if you think of voting for any other party but his then “You ain’t black”!
But as we all should remember, the Democrats so love persons of colour that historically they were the party most in favour of owning one.
And we should all remember that the Democrats and Republicans essentially swapped positions between 1869 and 1930.
Not really. The Democrats down to the 1950s were the party of Jim Crow. Also, beginning with Wilson, they began making the Federal government look more and more like the heavily bureaucratic, centralized government the Confederacy had given itself.
Not really. The Democrats down to the 1950s were the party of Jim Crow. Also, beginning with Wilson, they began making the Federal government look more and more like the heavily bureaucratic, centralized government the Confederacy had given itself.
And we should all remember that the Democrats and Republicans essentially swapped positions between 1869 and 1930.
According to Cornpop Joe, if you think of voting for any other party but his then “You ain’t black”!
But as we all should remember, the Democrats so love persons of colour that historically they were the party most in favour of owning one.
The problem in America, and most western nations, is the Conservative parties don’t represent the working class, blue collar workers and small business either. They got nothing at the moment, although I’m hopeful that will change.
I thought this quote was funny because it’s so blindingly obvious:
“Democratic elites risk ignoring “kitchen-table issues” like crime, inflation and gas prices.”
Not so, Jimbob!
Conservatives have clowns like Trump and real-life troll DeSantis who can get you guys all riled up about non-issues like CRT and trans kids – the things that are really important to the rubes who have never met a trans person and have no clue what CRT actually is!
Graeme has lost it.
I don’t think Graeme ever had it to begin with.
Do you have any arguable points, other than unsubstantiated playground insults?
I don’t think Graeme ever had it to begin with.
Do you have any arguable points, other than unsubstantiated playground insults?
Pretty sure I expressed skepticism of conservative parties.
Yes, you have. Even I notice that, and I barely pay attention to whom I’m reading and even replying.
Yes, you have. Even I notice that, and I barely pay attention to whom I’m reading and even replying.
What do you think CRT is, Graeme?
Low energy. SAD
Try telling that to a construction worker who has to listen to lectures on diversity or finds a man in a changing room or lavatory used by his daughter.
DeSantis won in a landslide due to his excellent management of the state. He did not lock people out of work or school during the pandemic as much as most other states, and he handled the hurricane splendidly. Florida has a budget surplus.
His handling of Disney and flying illegals to Martha’s Vineyard to demonstrate Donkey hypocrisy are great PR moves, even if they have little direct impact.
DeSantis knows what people want, and he delivers good governance.
He does indeed. I live in Florida and was deeply grateful he was governor during Hurricane Ian, which hit my town especially badly. The troll above obviously knows nothing about DeSantis. It’s unfortunate to see him turn up in these comment sections to fling his diapers around,
The rubes on the left have been brainwashed that DeSantis must be evil. “Orangeman bad, DeSantis worse”
He does indeed. I live in Florida and was deeply grateful he was governor during Hurricane Ian, which hit my town especially badly. The troll above obviously knows nothing about DeSantis. It’s unfortunate to see him turn up in these comment sections to fling his diapers around,
The rubes on the left have been brainwashed that DeSantis must be evil. “Orangeman bad, DeSantis worse”
Graeme has lost it.
Pretty sure I expressed skepticism of conservative parties.
What do you think CRT is, Graeme?
Low energy. SAD
Try telling that to a construction worker who has to listen to lectures on diversity or finds a man in a changing room or lavatory used by his daughter.
DeSantis won in a landslide due to his excellent management of the state. He did not lock people out of work or school during the pandemic as much as most other states, and he handled the hurricane splendidly. Florida has a budget surplus.
His handling of Disney and flying illegals to Martha’s Vineyard to demonstrate Donkey hypocrisy are great PR moves, even if they have little direct impact.
DeSantis knows what people want, and he delivers good governance.
Not so, Jimbob!
Conservatives have clowns like Trump and real-life troll DeSantis who can get you guys all riled up about non-issues like CRT and trans kids – the things that are really important to the rubes who have never met a trans person and have no clue what CRT actually is!
The problem in America, and most western nations, is the Conservative parties don’t represent the working class, blue collar workers and small business either. They got nothing at the moment, although I’m hopeful that will change.
I thought this quote was funny because it’s so blindingly obvious:
“Democratic elites risk ignoring “kitchen-table issues” like crime, inflation and gas prices.”
If the Republicans can move past their in-fighting around Trump, they have a clear path to victory by platforming the “kitchen sink” issues mentioned in the article. That will be a true pan-racial coalition.
Are they really prepared to do this? I hope so.
That’s why I (a former Trump voter) sometimes wishes he gets indicted for something, anything. Go away, Donald. You’ve done your job.
Interestingly enough, it was Trump who began to move black and Latino men to the Republicans during the last election. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.
Doesn’t matter it will never be enough to change anything.
Doesn’t matter it will never be enough to change anything.
After the midterms I have doubts about that. They are generally low information voters watching broadcast television. If it can be this bad and they still vote for odious people then we are lost.
Are they really prepared to do this? I hope so.
That’s why I (a former Trump voter) sometimes wishes he gets indicted for something, anything. Go away, Donald. You’ve done your job.
Interestingly enough, it was Trump who began to move black and Latino men to the Republicans during the last election. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.
After the midterms I have doubts about that. They are generally low information voters watching broadcast television. If it can be this bad and they still vote for odious people then we are lost.
If the Republicans can move past their in-fighting around Trump, they have a clear path to victory by platforming the “kitchen sink” issues mentioned in the article. That will be a true pan-racial coalition.
Maybe one of the best examples of this divergence is the word Latinx. Not sure who invented that but it quickly became the style at the NYT and other MSM outlets. It’s supposedly a gender neutral replacement for Latino.
Clearly the person who inserted the x there is a monolingual white upper class American, a white college educated democrat.
The x is pronounced “ex” which doesn’t exist as a Spanish Phoneme. There are other ways to make words gender neutral in Spanish – in this case you could just say Latin people, but in general Spanish speaking people don’t care about gender neutrality in their language.
This has led to some Hispanic politicians (democrats actually) trying to ban it.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/02/02/politics/connecticut-latinx-ban-bill-cec/index.html
What does this tell us about woke Americans ? It tells you that they are in fact the supremacists they think they aren’t. Without regard to the considerations of the actual speakers of Spanish they’ve taken it on themselves to change the language in a way that Spanish speakers find discordant. And Spanish isn’t a small regional language, it’s a world language, and this change has begun to spread amongst some educated Hispanics.
The fact that the US woke elites can do this kind of thing is , consciously or unconsciously, an expression of power not of humility.
Indeed, and it is largely done accordingly to Marxian power-class theory – i.e. according to the beliefs of a Great White Man.
Latino Democrats in Connecticut just requested the Democrat-controlled state legislature NOT to use ‘Latinx’ – so there’s some pushback.
“The x is pronounced “ex” which doesn’t exist as a Spanish Phoneme.”
With a name like Villanueva, even I had never caught this.
Interesting. I assume it was the same for blacks, where the correct way to identify them has progressed from the N word, Negro, Black, African American and who knows what in 10 years. I don’t know any black people who use anything other than black to self identify. Now that black culture has taken over in America in various areas like entertainment, language, dress, style and even in cultural appropriation, they might become offended by the “American” part of their name someday. In my area, many fly their own flag now in front of their houses.
What flag is that?
The terms “colored,” “Negro,” “Black,” and “African American” were all chosen as terms of racial identifiction by the American descendants of enslaved Africans themselves at different points in history (and the previously preferred term subsequently became disfavored). These days, “Black” is most commonly used and likely most preferred whereas “African American” is mostly used in professional and academic settings and contexts. And I don’t foresee us at all objecting to the “American” part of the term; it’s actually the “African” part that more than a few Black Americans have contested as we’ve been far removed from the continent over time and space such that there are no direct ties to it today to speak of.
But as far as I’m concerned, we’re about as American as it gets. We were made a people in America which makes it our literal homeland.
What flag is that?
The terms “colored,” “Negro,” “Black,” and “African American” were all chosen as terms of racial identifiction by the American descendants of enslaved Africans themselves at different points in history (and the previously preferred term subsequently became disfavored). These days, “Black” is most commonly used and likely most preferred whereas “African American” is mostly used in professional and academic settings and contexts. And I don’t foresee us at all objecting to the “American” part of the term; it’s actually the “African” part that more than a few Black Americans have contested as we’ve been far removed from the continent over time and space such that there are no direct ties to it today to speak of.
But as far as I’m concerned, we’re about as American as it gets. We were made a people in America which makes it our literal homeland.
Indeed, and it is largely done accordingly to Marxian power-class theory – i.e. according to the beliefs of a Great White Man.
Latino Democrats in Connecticut just requested the Democrat-controlled state legislature NOT to use ‘Latinx’ – so there’s some pushback.
“The x is pronounced “ex” which doesn’t exist as a Spanish Phoneme.”
With a name like Villanueva, even I had never caught this.
Interesting. I assume it was the same for blacks, where the correct way to identify them has progressed from the N word, Negro, Black, African American and who knows what in 10 years. I don’t know any black people who use anything other than black to self identify. Now that black culture has taken over in America in various areas like entertainment, language, dress, style and even in cultural appropriation, they might become offended by the “American” part of their name someday. In my area, many fly their own flag now in front of their houses.
Maybe one of the best examples of this divergence is the word Latinx. Not sure who invented that but it quickly became the style at the NYT and other MSM outlets. It’s supposedly a gender neutral replacement for Latino.
Clearly the person who inserted the x there is a monolingual white upper class American, a white college educated democrat.
The x is pronounced “ex” which doesn’t exist as a Spanish Phoneme. There are other ways to make words gender neutral in Spanish – in this case you could just say Latin people, but in general Spanish speaking people don’t care about gender neutrality in their language.
This has led to some Hispanic politicians (democrats actually) trying to ban it.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/02/02/politics/connecticut-latinx-ban-bill-cec/index.html
What does this tell us about woke Americans ? It tells you that they are in fact the supremacists they think they aren’t. Without regard to the considerations of the actual speakers of Spanish they’ve taken it on themselves to change the language in a way that Spanish speakers find discordant. And Spanish isn’t a small regional language, it’s a world language, and this change has begun to spread amongst some educated Hispanics.
The fact that the US woke elites can do this kind of thing is , consciously or unconsciously, an expression of power not of humility.
“College educated” is an oxymoron and has been for the last 30 years.
“College educated” refers to an experience that someone has undergone, not to education as formerly understood. Part of that experience for many is exposure to, and adoption of, received opinion.
“College educated” refers to an experience that someone has undergone, not to education as formerly understood. Part of that experience for many is exposure to, and adoption of, received opinion.
“College educated” is an oxymoron and has been for the last 30 years.
I love the first graph. I haven’t seen it before, and it’s so telling. The upward trend in Dem affiliation among both the college educated (white and non-white) is so obvious. Meanwhile the non-white-no-college line is flat and the white-no-college line is dropping off a cliff. This breakdown clearly teases out the effects of education and race separately. Useful.
As a conservative, I’m happy to let the Dems spend their time cultivating the affinities of the 25% of the electorate that has a college degree. By all means… make sure they love you.
I love the first graph. I haven’t seen it before, and it’s so telling. The upward trend in Dem affiliation among both the college educated (white and non-white) is so obvious. Meanwhile the non-white-no-college line is flat and the white-no-college line is dropping off a cliff. This breakdown clearly teases out the effects of education and race separately. Useful.
As a conservative, I’m happy to let the Dems spend their time cultivating the affinities of the 25% of the electorate that has a college degree. By all means… make sure they love you.
Where do you even start with the ideology of America’s political parties? Much of the Democratic party’s efforts are performative. Not substantive. They pivot from gender issues to climate change to abortion rights to gay rights…nothing is off the table for them it seems except the unions and the working man who once filled their ranks. Meanwhile, the GOP trudges along, still stomping their feet and raising the flag. We can’t get out of our own way as a country. And the grasp of nearly everyone to declare themselves one or the other reminds me of the lunacy of Americans and sports teams. We are so desperate to align ourselves with a group (maybe because we don’t feel united as Americans?), that we are willing to let the needs of the country fall to the wayside.
As someone who moved to the US later on in life, I’ve noticed this weird group dynamic in many Americans too. I remember talking to some Democrat friends of mine and happened to mention how political affiliation is so woven into people’s identities over here. They had no idea what I was talking about.
There are more than a few Americans who don’t have the luxury of time or simply lack sufficient interest to be incessantly engaged with politics, so they didn’t get the memo that they are to make a public declaration of binding lifelong allegiance to their preferred party and adopt partisan affiliation as a fundamental personal characteristic, even those who may be registered with a party and vote at least occasionally. The picture painted by the media, both mainstream and social, of life on the ground in the U.S. is often light years away from the reality of life on the ground in the U.S. for many.
There are more than a few Americans who don’t have the luxury of time or simply lack sufficient interest to be incessantly engaged with politics, so they didn’t get the memo that they are to make a public declaration of binding lifelong allegiance to their preferred party and adopt partisan affiliation as a fundamental personal characteristic, even those who may be registered with a party and vote at least occasionally. The picture painted by the media, both mainstream and social, of life on the ground in the U.S. is often light years away from the reality of life on the ground in the U.S. for many.
As someone who moved to the US later on in life, I’ve noticed this weird group dynamic in many Americans too. I remember talking to some Democrat friends of mine and happened to mention how political affiliation is so woven into people’s identities over here. They had no idea what I was talking about.
Where do you even start with the ideology of America’s political parties? Much of the Democratic party’s efforts are performative. Not substantive. They pivot from gender issues to climate change to abortion rights to gay rights…nothing is off the table for them it seems except the unions and the working man who once filled their ranks. Meanwhile, the GOP trudges along, still stomping their feet and raising the flag. We can’t get out of our own way as a country. And the grasp of nearly everyone to declare themselves one or the other reminds me of the lunacy of Americans and sports teams. We are so desperate to align ourselves with a group (maybe because we don’t feel united as Americans?), that we are willing to let the needs of the country fall to the wayside.
Almost certainly the same in the UK Labour Party.
Almost certainly the same in the UK Labour Party.
When the class divide is widening right across the western world and faster than at any time in history it’s hardly surprising that the rich folks want to change the subject. What’s depressing is that so many blacks and hispanics seem to fall for this deflection and go on voting for the divide and rule policies of the Wall Street candidates.
When the class divide is widening right across the western world and faster than at any time in history it’s hardly surprising that the rich folks want to change the subject. What’s depressing is that so many blacks and hispanics seem to fall for this deflection and go on voting for the divide and rule policies of the Wall Street candidates.
In other news Republican party dominated by uneducated rubes who think Donald Trump is awesome.
Calm down, Graeme.
Why are you giving air to the troll in the room?
Why are you giving air to the troll in the room?
This comment is so creepy and offensive in so many ways. You know what they say about the smartest guy in the room. If that’s who you think you are, you must be standing in an empty room.
Does that one hit a bit close to home, Jimmy?
Well, if the cap fits…
Does that one hit a bit close to home, Jimmy?
Well, if the cap fits…
College education isn’t the same thing as education, knowledge, wisdom or intelligence, you know.
Reminds me of all those smart people who proudly proclaim they follow the science – oblivious of the actual scientific process.
It reminds me of the Dunning – Kruger effect.
follow the science except chromosomes cuz those don’t matter
Aah, the scientific process. We can’t ask Fauci about that because his single minded suppression of professional medical and strategic alternative responses to Covid penalized, canceled or or demonized many worthy scientists and physicians.The Dems, we remember, were utterly in the toilet for Fauci.
That said, I found this “report” rather thin, not well nuanced by any means. Assumptions about whites, assumptions about Democrats, assumptions about Republicans, assumptions about education, assumptions about blacks as well. His source wasn’t mentioned, and one associated with the source wasn’t identified. What was his affiliation? What are his credentials anyway? So we’re in the dark about a lot of this.
So: The 60’s are over. We have seen Latinos veering away from the Democrats for some time now–this is not the Kennedy era of solidarity with Caesar Chavez. And when it comes to the black vote, we must remember black South Carolina congress lord James Cliburne led his numerous followers to help Biden get an early lock on the nomination. Really, we have Cliburne to thank for the utter disaster that Biden has revealed himself to be. And don’t anyone get me started on Hawkeem Jefferies–hand picked by Pelosi.
It reminds me of the Dunning – Kruger effect.
follow the science except chromosomes cuz those don’t matter
Aah, the scientific process. We can’t ask Fauci about that because his single minded suppression of professional medical and strategic alternative responses to Covid penalized, canceled or or demonized many worthy scientists and physicians.The Dems, we remember, were utterly in the toilet for Fauci.
That said, I found this “report” rather thin, not well nuanced by any means. Assumptions about whites, assumptions about Democrats, assumptions about Republicans, assumptions about education, assumptions about blacks as well. His source wasn’t mentioned, and one associated with the source wasn’t identified. What was his affiliation? What are his credentials anyway? So we’re in the dark about a lot of this.
So: The 60’s are over. We have seen Latinos veering away from the Democrats for some time now–this is not the Kennedy era of solidarity with Caesar Chavez. And when it comes to the black vote, we must remember black South Carolina congress lord James Cliburne led his numerous followers to help Biden get an early lock on the nomination. Really, we have Cliburne to thank for the utter disaster that Biden has revealed himself to be. And don’t anyone get me started on Hawkeem Jefferies–hand picked by Pelosi.
And the way college institutions are going it’s becoming altogether uncorrelated.
Many colleges are propaganda mills. Intelligence is anti-correlated with time at college these days.
Many colleges are propaganda mills. Intelligence is anti-correlated with time at college these days.
Reminds me of all those smart people who proudly proclaim they follow the science – oblivious of the actual scientific process.
And the way college institutions are going it’s becoming altogether uncorrelated.
That’s what the Democrats would have you believe but we know that’s a totally incorrect statement. For starters, talk to folks in finance many of whom are Republican Ivy Leaguers…
I think your view is outdated. Most people in finance these days (at least in the large firms what hire Ive Leaguers) are Democrats (at least to judge by their political donation patterns).
I think your view is outdated. Most people in finance these days (at least in the large firms what hire Ive Leaguers) are Democrats (at least to judge by their political donation patterns).
Calm down, Graeme.
This comment is so creepy and offensive in so many ways. You know what they say about the smartest guy in the room. If that’s who you think you are, you must be standing in an empty room.
College education isn’t the same thing as education, knowledge, wisdom or intelligence, you know.
That’s what the Democrats would have you believe but we know that’s a totally incorrect statement. For starters, talk to folks in finance many of whom are Republican Ivy Leaguers…
In other news Republican party dominated by uneducated rubes who think Donald Trump is awesome.