The Widening Gap
By Andrew Kohut
Generation that is
By 1984 baby boomers were not so young and their ideas were not so different. And until very recently, a political generation gap between younger and older voters was not so great.
The national elections in 2004 and 2006 saw younger people casting more votes for Democratic candidates than did older voters. During the last two years, polls have shown voters ages 18 to 29 aligning themselves with the Democratic party in great numbers. Indeed, they have found their chosen candidate in Barack Obama, who has carried the youth vote in 28 of 32 primary elections where exit polls were taken.
Interestingly, older voters — many of whom supported Democrats over the years — seem reluctant to support Mr. Obama. Hillary Clinton has carried the vote of people over 65 in 26 primary elections. And looking forward to the general election, the national polls now show John McCain running better against Mr. Obama among this older age group — as well as among middle-aged voters and younger voters.
