Who votes for the Democratic Party and why?

The ‘Democratic Coalition’ consists of many differing groups with distinct policy priorities. One key group within the party’s base is African Americans who, after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 under the presidency of Lindon B. Johnson, have disproportionately voted for Democrats. Indeed, since 1968 between 85% and 98% of black Americans have voted for Democratic Presidential candidates. There are clear historical reasons for this as the Democrats have, from the latter half of the 20^th century, positioned themselves as the champions of the Civil Rights movement. The modern party also tends to advocate policy positions that disproportionately benefit the 13.3% of Americans who are black. Notable amongst these is advocacy of criminal justice reform by prominent figures in the party such as Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren. Given that African Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of their non-Hispanic white counterparts, is unsurprising that the Party’s support for statutes such as the Fair Sentencing Act (2010), which reduced the disparity between sentences for possession of crack-cocaine and cocaine, acts as a ‘pull factor’ which generates support from African Americans.

Another significant group which disproportionately votes for the Democrats are Hispanic-Americans. This tends to derive from an interplay of push factors away from Republicans and pull factors towards Democrats. In 2016 only 29% of Hispanic Americans voted for Donald Trump, compared to 65% who voted for Hillary Clinton. Trump’s controversial stance on illegal migration, which saw him propose policies such as a ‘deportation force’, goes a long way to explaining this. Given that 80% of Hispanic Americans claim to have a personal relationship with an undocumented migrant, the reasons why the rhetoric of elements of the modern Republican party turn away Hispanic voters are quite clear. However, it should be noted that the policy platform of the Democratic party is also significant. Support for proposals such as the D.R.E.A.M. act, which seeks to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented workers in the U.S., is very popular amongst Hispanics as it is of disproportionate relevance to their communities.