In Defying the Odds, we talk about the social and economic divides that enabled Trump to enter the White House. In Divided We Stand, we discuss how these divides played out in 2020. The diploma divide has become increasingly evident.
Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell at WP:The midterms offered fresh evidence that voters with bachelor's degrees and those without them are diverging.
In the 2018 midterms, 56 percent of voters with college degrees and 51 percent of voters without them voted for Democrats, according to the Associated Press’s VoteCast survey — a gap of five percentage points.
This year, the gap widened to 10 points: 52 percent of voters with college degrees supported Democrats while 42 percent of voters without degrees did so. The split echoed the gap between college-educated and non-college-educated voters’ support for Biden in 2020.
Voters with and without college degrees were more likely to support Republicans this year than in 2018 — a stronger year for Democrats. But voters without college degrees shifted more sharply toward the GOP than college-educated ones across racial and gender lines:Non-college-educated voters’ increasing willingness to back Republicans didn’t prevent Democrats from holding the Senate or limiting Republicans’ gains in the House, but Republicans are hopeful they’ll have a bigger impact in future elections.
- White voters without degrees moved seven points toward Republicans this year, while college-educated ones moved three points
- Black voters without degrees moved eight points toward Republicans this year, while college-educated ones moved four points
- Latino voters without degrees moved 10 points toward Republicans this year, while college-educated ones moved five points
- Men without degrees moved seven points toward Republicans this year, while college-educated men moved one point
- Women without degrees moved eight points toward Republicans this year, while college-educated women moved seven points
