Gallup reports today on results the typical person probably could have guessed without looking: when it comes to Americans’ views on immigration, the public agrees with Democrats by a wide margin over Republicans. But the closer one looks, the more interesting the results become.
Broken down by race and ethnicity, African Americans (70% to 14%) and Hispanics (60% to 26%) heavily favor Democrats over the GOP, while among non-Hispanic whites, the parties are effectively tied, with the GOP enjoying a slight edge (42% to 41%). Then consider the same breakdown with age groups factored in:
Note that in every group, younger Americans side with Democrats, and this includes non-Hispanic whites under the age of 50. There’s only one group of folks that sides with Republicans: older white people.
It’s times like these when I’m reminded of this year-old quote from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “The demographics race we’re losing badly. We’re not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term.”
As the intra-party debate continues as to whether the GOP should remain a party focused almost exclusively on support from white voters, here’s hoping officials will keep polls like these in mind.
Update: It looks like Yglesias beat me to this one, though I hadn’t seen his post first. Honest.
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