As Republicans are growing older, Democrats are becoming more diverse and less religiously inclined, a new Pew Research survey shows.
Party identification for all registered voters has been nearly static since 1992 in general, but the makeup of the majority parties has seen some dramatic shifts in race, ethnicity and education, according to the study.
The nonwhite voting population has grown by 12 points, and a majority fall into the Democratic Party. Nonwhite Republican voters have increased since 1992, but not by much.
As the Democratic Party has grown more diverse, it has also become more educated, with the percent of voters with a college degree up from 21 percent in 1992 to 37 percent today. Voters with a postgraduate degree in 2016 are also more likely to be Democrats, with 59 percent identifying with the party, as opposed to the 36 percent in the GOP.
Meanwhile Republican Party’s base has grown older, with the percent of 50 and older voters increasing by 20 points. In all, more than half of registered voters are 50 and older, according to the study.
Pew Research Center surveyed registered voters nationally since 1992. In 2016, the center polled 8,113 registered voters from January to August, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.
