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Caroline Chung
Caroline is a sophomore at Wesleyan University, on the field hockey team. She is a double major in Biology and Economics and is interested in biotech and life sciences consulting.
Abstract: This study will investigate whether less educated individuals are more politically polarized and whether these differences are consistent across generations. America’s polarization problem has steadily increased over time, and political party membership and commitment contribute to that. This study examines the probability of voting for a democrat in a presidential election and how education level and generation impact that choice. Level of education is separated into five groups: less than a high school education, high school diploma, some post-high school, but no bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and graduate degree. Generation is split up into seven groups: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers I, Boomers II, and Post-War. Ultimately, neither level of education nor age generation was found to be significantly associated with voting for a democrat. Although the likelihood of voting for a democrat increases as the education level increases, no concrete assumptions can be made because they are not statistically significant. Similarly, every older generation has a higher likelihood of voting for a democrat than Gen Z does, but no assumptions can be made.