In 2002, influential political observers John Judis and Ruy Teixeira published a book that helped craft an enduring narrative. “The Emerging Democratic Majority” postulated that ongoing socio-demographic trends worked to the advantage of the Democratic Party. These trends included a growing percentage of ethnic minorities, along with increasing percentages of younger voters, unmarried working women, and the college-educated. Individually and cumulatively, these developments suggested a bright future for Democrats’ electoral prospects.
The 2008 presidential election seemed to herald the arrival of this “new American electorate” or “coalition of the ascendant.” Four years later, in the aftermath of President Obama’s reelection, the Republican National Committee recognized the apparent new order when it issued an “autopsy” of Mitt Romney’s loss. In it, the GOP declared that it needed to increase its appeal to ethnic and racial minorities, women, and young voters. A few years later, the U.S. Census Bureau put an official stamp on one of the important demographic trends when it reported that “Non-Hispanic Whites May No Longer Comprise Over 50 Percent of the U.S. Population by 2044.”
