---
title: "The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election"
description: "In the last four national elections, generational differences have mattered more than they have in decades. According to the exit polls, younger people have voted substantially more Democratic than other age groups in each election since 2004, while older voters have cast more ballots for Republican candidates in each election since 2006."
date: "2011-11-03"
authors:
  - name: "Pew Research Center"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2011/11/03/the-generation-gap-and-the-2012-election/"
categories:
  - "Age & Generations"
  - "Baby Boomers"
  - "Election 2012"
  - "Older Adults & Aging"
  - "Politics & Policy"
datasets:
  - name: "Veterans & Generational Change"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/veterans-generational-change/"
---

# The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election

In the last four national elections, generational differences have mattered more than they have in decades. According to the exit polls, younger people have voted substantially more Democratic than other age groups in each election since 2004, while older voters have cast more ballots for Republican candidates in each election since 2006.