Reagan Democrat - Reagan Democrats in The 1990s and Into The 21st Century

Reagan Democrats in The 1990s and Into The 21st Century

The demographic shift that Ronald Reagan tapped into continued into the 1990s after he left office. This is evidenced by the rise of Bill Clinton to the presidency during the 1992 presidential election. In that campaign, candidate Clinton forswore many older Democratic policies in favor of centrist Third Way policies that were championed by the Democratic Leadership Council in hopes of reconnecting with many working class voters who had begun to vote Republican in presidential campaign since 1968—the Silent Majority of Nixon and the Reagan Democrats.

Many self-styled Reagan Democrats claim to be fiscal conservatives but still support many aspects of the core programs of the New Deal and the Great Society, while also supporting Ronald Reagan’s strong defense policies as well as his optimism in American culture. Some elements of the Tea Party fit this sketch, but many other independents and Democrats could fall into the same category as well. It’s become a broad term, but that does not diminish the explanatory power behind it. One of the most prominent self-styled Reagan Democrats includes Virginia Senator Jim Webb, whom columnist David Paul Kuhn asserts is the quintessential Reagan Democrat and one of the last of an 'endangered species' within the Democratic Party.

Conservative commentator George Will, noting the long-term movements of partisanship, said in 2012 that: "White voters without college education—economically anxious and culturally conservative—were called "Reagan Democrats" when they were considered only seasonal Republicans because of Ronald Reagan. Today they are called the Republican base."