Men and whites vote differently based on education

College-educated and college-age voters overwhelmingly chose Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. exit polls to show.

The gap between the political preferences of college-educated voters and those without a college degree has widened over the past decade, with higher education leaders saying the gap reflects political polarization. This divide, they say, could fuel perceptions that universities are out of touch with average Americans and highlight the need to ensure higher education is accessible to people of all backgrounds.

During College-educated voters were more likely to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris than Donald Trump across all demographics; This gap is widest among white voters and men. Women, Blacks, and Hispanics generally voted similarly regardless of educational background.

All told, college graduates made up 43 percent of voters this year, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research in collaboration with the National Election Pool. Of this group, 55 percent voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and 42 percent voted for Donald Trump. For those who did not graduate from college, the figures were almost the opposite; 42 percent of them voted for Harris and 56 percent for Trump.

Edison Research conducted exit polls on behalf of various news organizations. Including NBC Newsand we provided data Inside Higher Education.

College graduates’ preference for Democratic candidates is a relatively new phenomenon. only in the last decade. But since then, this group’s support for Democrats has increased significantly. Less than 10 years ago, 50 percent of college-educated voters voted Republican and 48 percent voted Democrat, according to data from the American Council on Education; but in 2016, the majority of college-educated voters (55 percent) voted Republican. 43 percent of Democrats support Republicans. In 2022, about 46 percent of college graduates voted for Republicans and 52 percent voted for Democrats.

This shift has been accompanied by shifting perceptions that colleges and universities are now diverse and increasing disparagement by some Republicans. bastions of liberal ideology where are the students brainwashed They leaned towards left-wing thought and were punished for expressing different views. (Conservative students make their feelings known less comfortable They share their political views with classmates and right-wing speakers more likely to be yelled at on campuses; On the other hand, universities in recent years Scale back or eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs And under pressure To punish student protesters.)

This year, the difference was especially stark among men. While nearly equal numbers of college-educated men voted for each candidate (49 percent of the vote went to Harris and 48 percent to Trump), Trump led Harris by a whopping 24 points among men without a college education.

Responses from white voters told a similar story. Although Harris was seven percentage points more popular than Trump among college-educated white voters, only 32 percent of non-college-educated white voters voted for Harris and 66 percent for Trump.

Black voters, on the other hand, voted for Harris at nearly the same rate regardless of whether they had graduated from college (86 percent) or not (85 percent). The same was true for Hispanic voters; 53 percent of Hispanic college graduates chose Harris, while 51 percent of non-college graduates chose Harris. (Education aside, Trump did big gains in both of these demographics compared to 2020.)

College-educated and non-college-educated women vote the same way; While 54 percent of college-educated women voted for Harris and 42 percent chose Trump, 53 percent of women without a college education voted for Harris and 45 percent for Trump. These differences were much larger among white women; White women who did not graduate from college preferred Trump by 28 percentage points.

Edison Research didn’t ask respondents whether they were current college students, but respondents ages 18 to 24 were more likely to vote for Harris (54 percent) than Trump (42 percent). But the gap in 2024 has narrowed compared to 2020, when Trump was able to persuade only 35 percent of young people.

This time, Trump won male voters ages 18-29 by two percentage points. Meanwhile, 61 percent of women in this age range voted for Harris, while only 37 percent voted for Trump.

Some pundits blamed Harris’ loss and a shift in Trump’s popularity among young men. Radicalized Generation Z men By right-wing influencers and podcasts, the popularity of this type of content has skyrocketed in recent years. But other experts warn against the idea that any one factor can explain election results.

“I have read hundreds of articles and social media posts that attribute responsibility for the election results to one group or another,” wrote Nancy Thomas, executive director of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ Institute on Democracy and Higher Education. an email Inside Higher Education. “We will soon know more about long lines and other oppressive voting tactics. Or unfavorable weather conditions. Or whether young people care more about the economy than the environment. “We will also want to take into account disinformation, unfettered social media, unwarranted fear or hatred of ‘others’ and the influence of money.”

Thomas cautioned that “this will take months to resolve” and even then it may be difficult to identify specific causes.

“These numbers make me wonder what intersecting factors, especially race, gender, age, education level, wealth, and geography, influence (voters) and their impact on education and democracy,” he wrote. “The thing is, there are a lot of things to consider.”