The degree is the divide
When midterm votes are counted on Nov. 3, few lines in the exit polls will have moved as far in 20 years as the one drawn by a four-year degree. In 2004, voters with a bachelor’s degree split evenly between Bush and Kerry, while voters without one favored Bush by 6 points. In 2024, the two groups were 27 points apart. The parties did not discover that divide. It was manufactured over the course of 60 years by the institutions that made the degree the price of admission to respectable adult life, and whichever party wins on Nov. 3 inherits it intact.
