Key Points
• The American electorate has changed dramatically over the past 40 years, and a pair of factors — race and education — have driven the changes.
• The electorate has become more diverse and more highly educated. Democrats rely heavily on nonwhite voters and have improved with white college-educated voters, while Republicans have cut deeply into Democratic support with non-college whites.
• Racial and cultural issues, rather than economic ones, have fueled Republican gains with the non-college white electorate. CONTINUED
Alan I. Abramowitz (Emory), Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Party loyalty in presidential elections, 1980-2020
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