Baby boomers comprised a larger share of voters in 2024, accounting for 32%, but they are trending lower after hitting a peak of 36% in 2016.
Ocasio-Cortez, a millennial herself, expects the younger generation will soon tip the scales in American politics.
“Millennials are not punk kids anymore. We’re grown adults with mortgages and kids,” she said. “And we—that generation is starting to be decisive at the polls. And there is anger at being ignored, sidelined, having our economic futures mortgaged by the generations that came before us on everything from the economy to climate. And we’re taking the reins.”
From global warming to debt crisis to lack of affordable health insurance (all intentional), Boomers have definitely overstayed their welcome.
The people who were hippies in the 60s are mostly still hippies today. Well, the ones who subscribed to the peace and love philosophy at least. Despite the media attention the hippies were never large enough to be a politically influential group in that generation. Most of the boomers grew up bullying the hippies.
Both my boomer parents were hippies. My Mom literally lived in a commune for some time in her early 20s. She voted for the T-Dog in 2016 because she wanted to see real change.
I used to chuckle when I was a kid the way my Dad would look at me and roll his eyes when my grandparents would talk about politics and religion. My Dad loves his MAGA hats now. And wonders why his grandchildren don’t want to be around him.
My sample size of 2 says otherwise!
My wife and I are old, and we’ve moved more and more left as life has go on, so now we’re strongly Progressive, and our son is so far left, he thinks we’re fairly conservative. He knows we’d never vote MAGA, though.
Counter anecdote: my parents are still far left. My mom was a local union rep, still attends protests, and is volunteering today.
My folks were hippies and my dad joined the service with long hair and retired 20 years later with less hair, fewer drugs and still farther to the left of his gay son (and I’m pretty much ‘capitalism bad’ at this point).
I’m a little jealous to be honest. I can barely talk to my dad anymore. He swallowed the propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Everything he says is word for word from cable news or facebook.
I got lucky. My Dad was a hard-core Republican, and we battled often during the Bush administration, but he drew a solid line at Trump.
We grew up in NY state, and we KNEW who Trump really was from the very beginning, decades ago, long before The Apprentice re-branding, and my Dad refused to support him in even the most casual way. He even quit the neighborhood Republican Club that he’d been in for YEARS, because they all joined the MAGA Cult. He was always a very logical guy, with a Mathematics degree, so he had excellent Critical Thinking Skills, and he wasn’t going to abandon them for the likes of Donald Trump. He could barely stand GW Bush, he really despised Trump.
My mom also despised Trump from the get-go, but when the Pussy Grabber tape came out, she lost her mind. For years, whenever anyone brought up his name, she’d go on a rant, starting with “I don’t understand how ANY woman could vote for that man…” I’ve told her I write about this, and she’s proud of it. He is fully irredeemable in her eyes. Unforgivable.
In my Dad’s last election, in 2018, he voted a straight Democratic Ticket, for the first and only time in his life. He was still a Republican, but never a MAGA.
I got lucky.