Before the 2016 presidential election, many people thought Hillary Clinton’s victory was assured, in part because of the Republican Party’s “young person problem.” One reason people say this problem exists is because young adults are more racially and ethnically diverse than older adults. Another is that white young adults were supposedly more liberal on issues including gay rights, immigration and climate change.
Even though Donald Trump won the election, the narrative that young voters were turning away from the Republican Party didn’t go away. It may have even gained momentum. For example, in May the Pew Research Center documented that young Republicans were the group most likely to have switched political parties since the election.
But when we take a longer view, and when we disaggregate young Americans by race, the standing of the Republican Party with young people is not as precarious as many think. CONT.
Deborah J. Schildkraut (Tufts), Monkey Cage