February 16, 2023
Race, party, and ideological congruence in the American electorate.
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE
— One of the big stories of American politics over the past half-century has been a growing ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans.
— This has also led to more ideological cohesion within parties, including a dramatic increase among Democrats between 2012 and 2020. Democrats are now as ideologically cohesive as Republicans, which is a big change from a decade ago, when Republicans were significantly more cohesive than Democrats.
— While white Democrats have moved more to the left than nonwhite Democrats have on some issues, both groups have become more liberal since 2012.