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A recent survey conducted by Axios shows that young Democrats are far more likely to be less tolerant of people who have different political beliefs. According to the poll, college Democrats are less likely than others to go on dates, shop at a business, or work for people who voted for a different candidate than them. By comparison, Republicans and Independents do not seem to have much of an issue with hanging out or having personal relationships with people from the other side of the aisle.
The survey showed that an overwhelming 71% of young Democrats would probably not go on a date with someone who voted for another candidate. A substantial 37% of respondents said that they will probably not be friends with someone who has a different political position. Almost a third said they would not work for someone who voted for the opposing candidate, and 41% said they wouldn’t even shop at or support a business of someone from the opposing party.
In contrast, only 31% of Republicans said they would probably not date someone who voted for the other party, and less than 10% said that they would base their decision on who they work for, who are their friends, and where do they shop at, on politics. The numbers are also low for Independents, as less than 30% say they will not date someone who voted differently, 11% said they might not be friends with someone from the opposing candidate, 13% said they would not shop at a business from a supporter of the different party.
Republicans more likely to have Democratic friends
The Axios poll paints a very similar picture to that of similar YouGov polls, which showed that Republicans and Independents are more likely than Democrats to date across party lines and that Democrats are also 14 points less likely than Republicans to have friends that are from the other party. A similar study in June 2021 found out that 54% of Republicans have either some or a lot of Democratic friends, while only 32% of Democrats said the same about having Republican friends.
The differences between those who would base their personal relationships in political positions are more pronounced in party registration than in race, gender, income. According to the Axios, some young Democrats argued that the differences among political parties are not a matter of policy but of human rights.
The numbers show a very dire picture for the future of civil discourse and cohesion in America, especially since young college-educated voters have become a key part of the Democratic Coalition. The impact of political polarization has been having a great effect on American society, as studies show that people are even becoming less open to the idea of marrying someone from a different political party.
Furthermore, a study made by the Pew Research center shows that the political polarization in America is substantially higher in the United States than in other developed economies, the survey shows that 90% of Americans think there are strong societal conflicts between people who support different political parties, while in other democracies like the UK or Spain that number is below 60%. In fact, according to that study, conflict among political factions is the largest source of division in America, higher than race, religion, or geography.
With a political atmosphere that is becoming every day more raucous and partisan, the latest numbers of the Axios poll are definitely a cause of concern as it looks increasingly clear that college Democrats are basing not only their policy decisions but also their personal lives on politics.
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.