Generations, Age & Politics

A third of Millennials lack health care insurance, and their support for health care reform exceeds that of older generations, but they have tuned out of the debate in Washington.

Opinions of older adults tend to differ more from the other age groups than the views of those of the youngest generation when it comes to embracing technological advances and societal change. Two issues, the acceptance of homosexuality and tattoos, create especially large generational gaps.

Overview As the current decade draws to a close, relatively few Americans have positive things to say about it. By roughly two-to-one, more say they have a generally negative (50%) rather than a generally positive (27%) impression of the past 10 years. This stands in stark contrast to the public’s recollection of other decades in […]

While the economic downturn is falling quite heavily on younger Americans, their overall outlook remains optimistic. A new survey also finds Generation Next expressing more liberal views when compared with older age cohorts as well as evidence of increased political engagement.

This year, 66% of those under age 30 voted for Barack Obama making the disparity between young voters and other age groups larger than in any presidential election since exit polling began in 1972.

The proportion of voters identifying with the Democratic Party has grown significantly since the 2004 election, and the shift has been particularly dramatic among younger voters.

As in two preceding tests, a new survey shows that including cell phone interviews results in slightly more support for Obama and slightly less for McCain.

While Barack Obama's appeal to the young coincides with their increasing Democratic alignment, older voters do not show the greater allegiance to the GOP that might explain their relative reluctance to support him.

Trends in the opinions of America's youngest voters are often a barometer of shifting political winds. And that appears to be the case in 2008. Use the interactive tool to track generational differences in party affiliation over time.

John McCain's age has remained notably absent as a campaign issue, but earlier polling data suggest it could become a big issue for the Arizona senator come November.