The Parties on the Eve of the 2016 Election: Two Coalitions, Moving Further Apart

Americans overall are better educated than they were a quarter-century ago, and this change also has had a profound impact on the composition of the two parties. The share of voters who have a college degree or more education has increased by 10 percentage points since 1992, from 23% to 33%. Better-educated voters are increasingly identifying as Democrats and expressing liberal attitudes across a range of issues.

The Parties on the Eve of the 2016 Election: Two Coalitions, Moving Further Apart: Trends in voter party identification 1992-2016