Striking Changes Among Democrats on Race and Gender

The election of Donald Trump led many to think that Republicans have changed, especially on race-related issues. But the data suggest that the big changes in public opinion on racial issues over the last decade or so have been among Democrats. Since 2012, Democrats have become strikingly more liberal on race, on issues related to women, and the LGBT.

Conditions Make It Hard for Blacks to Succeed

The percentage of Democrats strongly agreeing with the statement more than doubled between 2012 (~ 20%) and 2020 (~ 45%).

Affirmative Action in Hiring/Promotion

The percentage of Democrats for affirmative action for Blacks in hiring/promotion nearly doubled between 2012 (~ 26%) and 2020 (~ 51%).

Fun fact: Support for caste based and gender based reservations in India is ~4x+ higher than support for race-based Affirmative Action in the US. See here.

Blacks Should Not Get Special Favors to Get Ahead

The percentage of Democrats strongly disagreeing with the statement nearly tripled between 2012 (~ 13%) and 2020 (~ 41%).

See also Sniderman and Carmines, who show that support for the statement is not rooted in racial prejudice.

Feelings Towards Racial Groups

Democrats in 2020 felt more warmly toward Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians than Whites.

White Democrats’ Feelings Towards Various Racial Groups

White Democrats in 2020 felt more warmly toward Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics than Whites.

Democrats’ Feelings Towards Gender Groups

Democrats felt 15 points more warmly toward feminists and LGBT people in 2020 than in 2012.