Post-election analysis from the Pew Research Center showed growth in the education gap between Republican and Democratic voters. Among voters with a college degree, Democrats outperformed Republicans for a third cycle, carrying 67% of voters with a postgraduate education and 56% of college graduates. Among voters with some college or no college, Republicans carried 50% and 56%, respectively.
From 2016 to 2020, Republicans increased their share of the vote among those with a postgraduate education by three points. Democrats still beat Republicans with this group by 35 points. Between 2016 and 2020, Republicans only gained one point among those with a college degree and one point among those with some college. Democrats gained seven points with those with some college, their biggest gain within any educational block. Republicans won 56% of those with no college in 2020, up five points from 2016.
Comparing the 2018 Midterms to the 2020 Presidential Election, Republicans gained one point among Black college graduates and three points among Black voters with some college or less. A larger increase was seen for Republicans among Hispanic voters between 2018 and 2020: Republicans performed nine points better with Hispanic college graduates but saw a surge (+14) among Hispanic voters with some college or less.
While Republicans have seen minimal improvement within the college educated demographic, those gains have not been enough to make an impact. As the 2022 midterms approach, Republicans will put themselves in a substantially better position by developing messaging that effectively communicates with college educated voters.
