Washington D.C. — A new Center for American Progress analysis of data from the 2024 election and review of pre-election surveys finds that working-class voters and college-educated voters want similar economic change despite voting for different presidential candidates.
This new CAP analysis finds that both working-class and college-educated voters want decent pay for hard work, a strong voice on the job, and for the rich to pay their fair share to support public goods. Although 2024 presidential election results show that 56 percent of working-class voters voted for President Donald Trump and an equal percentage of college-educated voters voted for Kamala Harris, majorities of both working-class and college-educated voters want progressive economic policies.
This issue brief reviews the progressive economic policies that both of these groups support and finds that:
- Clear majorities of both working-class and college-educated people wanted a decent minimum wage, with 67 percent of working-class and 58 percent of college-educated people strongly or somewhat supporting a $17 per hour federal minimum wage.
- Americans across all levels of education strongly supported unions, with 58 percent of people with some college or less education and 61 percent of college-educated people saying that “the large reduction in the percentage of workers represented by unions has been very or somewhat bad for working people.”
- Support was equally high among working-class and college-educated voters for higher taxes on the rich: 63 percent of working-class and 65 percent of college-educated voters supported raising the tax rates on those earning more than $400,000 per year.
- Working-class and college-educated voters agreed on the need for large public investments in infrastructure, with 80 percent of working-class and 82 percent of college-educated voters supporting a $1.2 trillion investment to build and repair roads, bridges, airports, public transportation, water systems, broadband, and the electric grid.
- Voters favored a stronger social safety net, with three-quarters of both working-class and college-educated voters supporting an expansion of Medicaid to cover more people earning low incomes.
“Although electoral outcomes have diverged between working-class and college-educated voters, both groups agree— progressive economic policies that raise the minimum wage, strengthen unions, raise taxes on the wealthy, invest in public goods and expand the social safety net are wanted,” said David Madland, senior fellow and co-author of the issue brief. “These policies will strengthen our economy and benefit everyone from working-class to college-educated voters.”
Read the issue brief: “Working-Class and College-Educated Voters Want Progressive Economic Policies” by Aurelia Glass and David Madland
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].