In 2016, as in recent years, Millennials and Gen Xers were the most Democratic generations. And both groups had relatively large – and growing – shares of liberal Democrats: 27% of Millennials and 21% of Gen Xers identified as liberal Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents.


The public’s overall partisan and ideological balance changes little from year to year. But there have been some long-term shifts among the public and within generational groups, according to a new analysis based on more than 15,000 interviews conducted in 2016 as well as earlier survey data. (For a look at trends among registered voters, see “The Parties on the Eve of the 2016 Election: Two Coalitions, Moving Further Apart.”)
The share of liberal Democrats in the public has grown. In 2016, 21% of Americans identified as Democrats or Democratic leaners and also as liberal. While that is only somewhat higher than a year earlier (19%), it is the highest share dating back to 2000. At that time, just 12% of the public described themselves as both liberal and as Democrats or Democratic leaners.
There has been little change since 2000 in other partisan and ideological categories, although the share saying they do not lean to either party is smaller today (11%) than in the early 2000s (17% in 2000).
Millennials were most likely to identify as liberal Democrats. In 2016, a majority of Millennials (55%) identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic; 27% described themselves as liberal Democrats – the highest share of any generation. For much of the past decade, conservative and moderate Democrats outnumbered liberal Democrats among Millennials. But in the past few years, there were about as many liberal Democrats as conservative and moderate Democrats among this youngest adult age group (those who were 18 to 35 in 2016).

Boomers have turned more conservative. In both 2015 and 2016, about three-in-ten Boomers (30% in 2015, 31% in 2016) identified as conservative Republicans – the highest percentages dating back to 2000. In both years, conservative Republicans made up the largest single partisan and ideological group among Boomers.
Members of the Silent Generation continued to be most likely to identify as conservative Republicans. The GOP has made large gains among Silents in recent years. Eight years ago, Democrats and Democratic leaners outnumbered Republicans and GOP leaners among Silents by 48% to 40%; in 2016, 49% of Silents identified as Republicans or leaned Republican, while 43% leaned Democratic. The share of Silents who describe themselves as conservative Republicans increased by 9 percentage points over this period, from 27% to 36%.
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Rubén Weinsteiner |
Rubén Weinsteiner
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