Article

New Progressive America: The Millennial Generation

Report from David Madland and Ruy Teixeira shows that young Americans are more progressive on nearly every issue than previous generations.

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The 2008 election saw strong shifts toward progressives among almost all growing demographic groups in the United States. Conversely, conservatives typically retained strength only among stagnant or declining groups. The result is a demographic landscape sharply tilted toward progressives, a tilt that is only likely to increase in years to come.

There are many components to the new demography, as outlined in the recent Progressive Studies report, “New Progressive America.” One of the most important is the rise of the strongly progressive Millennial generation (birth years 1978-2000). Last November’s election was the first in which the 18- to 29-year-old age group was drawn exclusively from the Millennial generation, and they voted for Obama by a 34-point margin, 66 percent to 32 percent, compared to a 9-point margin for Kerry among 18- to 29-year-olds in 2004 when that age group was not exclusively Millenials.

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Authors

David Madland

Senior Fellow; Senior Adviser, American Worker Project

Ruy Teixeira

Former Senior Fellow