Republicans now hold a 13-point lead over Democrats among white voters, a big increase since the 2008 election when their advantage was only two points. White voters now identify themselves as Republicans by a 52%-to-39% margin over Democrats, compared with four years ago when the margin was 46% to 44%. In comparison with 2008, Republicans now have the advantage across virtually all groups of white voters. Most notably, Republicans now have an 11-point lead over Democrats (52% to 41%) among white voters younger than age 30. In 2008, Democrats held a seven-point edge among this group (49% to 42%). Republicans also have widened their advantage among white men from 11 points in 2008 to 21 points now. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.