Democrats Do Best Among Generation Y and Baby Boomers

Republicans do better among Generation X
by Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ -- Although Democrats currently enjoy a party identification advantage over Republicans among Americans at every age between 18 to 85, the Democrats' greatest advantages come among those in their 20s and baby boomers in their late 40s and 50s. Republicans, on the other hand, come closest to parity with Democrats among Generation Xers in their late 30s and early 40s and among seniors in their late 60s.

These conclusions are based on an analysis of more than 123,000 interviews conducted by Gallup between Jan. 2 and May 5 of this year. This extremely large group of interviews allows for the analysis of party identification for each of the 67 distinct ages between 18 and 85. Gallup conducted interviews with at least 650 respondents at each age, with the average sample size of 1,756 per age year.

As shown in the graph above, there is significant variation in political party identification across the age spectrum in the United States today.

· The percentage of Americans who identify as independents is directly and inversely related to age. More than one-third of the youngest Americans identify as independents, a percentage that drops steadily as the population ages, reaching a low of around 20% among those 80 years of age and older.

· The percentage of Americans who identify as Republicans follows roughly the opposite pattern. Only around 20% of young Americans below the age of 25 identify as Republicans. The percent Republican grows slightly from that point as age increases, up until roughly Americans' mid-40s, and then settles back among baby boomers in their late 40s and 50s. As Americans age into their 60s, the Republican percentage climbs, reaching levels of about 30% and above on average after age 67.

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