Susan Demas gives 2024 Mullin Welch Lecture on the gender and generational gap in the upcoming election

Susan Demas, editor-in-chief and columnist of the state capital news site Michigan Advance, delivered the 2024 Mullin Welch Lecture on the gender gap and generational divides in the upcoming election. The lecture, hosted by the Center for the Education of Women+, was held at the University of Michigan Union in the Wolverine Room on Tuesday afternoon, one week before Election Day. 

This event was part of the University’s Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment and Global Engagement. The Mullin Welch Lecture, which occurs annually, aims to honor Elizabeth Charlotte Mullin Welch by bringing in women who embody her characteristics, which CEW+’s website describes as “creativity, strength of character and expansive vision.” 

Elizabeth Nelson, who served on the Ann Arbor City Council from 2018 to 2022 and is the president-elect for the American Association of University Women, gave opening remarks and introduced Demas. She started the event by explaining her personal experience with the gender and generational gap in past elections.

“Today’s topic reminds me of where I was during the 2016 primary elections, which was here on campus,” Nelson said. “I had gone back to school and I was spending most days with classmates who were 20 to 25 years younger than me. When Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination, I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm from some of my classmates. They were disappointed that we were going to break the glass ceiling with someone that they saw as having a professional identity and public accomplishments that were too closely associated with her marriage and her husband’s career. I didn’t see it that way, but they did.”

Demas, a policy analyst and journalist with 24 years of experience covering Michigan politics, highlighted the unique dynamics of this election. She started the lecture by explaining the role of polling in the modern political environment and how it has become less reliable in recent years. 

“Polling used to be more reliable,” Demas said. “More people still used landlines and there were not astronomical nonresponse rates. In recent elections, I am pulling data with a grain of salt. We have seen some big misses. I can’t sit here and tell you who is going to win in a week. What I tell my reporters all the time is that knowing what you don’t know is one of the most critical skills to have.”

Democrats and Republicans have differing priorities going into the election, Demas said.

“There is zero overlap in the top five issues for Democrats and Republicans this election, which speaks quite a bit to just how much of a high partisan atmosphere we are in,” Demas said “To some degree, we are almost having two different elections.”

The lecture examined how generational and gender divides influence voting behavior. Demas began by highlighting generational differences in political preference, explaining the political leanings of each generation. 

“There have been some interesting trends with age,” Demas said. “Republicans still have an advantage with seniors, those 65 and older … For voters aged 45 to 64, Gen X, we have been described as overall the ‘Trumpiest’ generation. Republicans have a clear advantage and that has accelerated under Trump. 30 to 44 year olds, millennials, came of age in the era of Obama and tend to be more Democratic.”

Recent societal changes have uniquely affected young voters, according to Demas. She said that as a journalist, she has focused on voters ages 18 to 29 because both of her kids are in this generation and she has seen them ibecoming increasingly involved in politics as they grow up.

“Politics has made its way through popular culture for a lot of kids,” Demas said. “This is a generation that has already been through a lot — a pandemic, Jan. 6 with the insurrection — there has been a lot of instability. They are following the trend of being more Democratic, but there are some interesting divisions by age and race. It is the most racially diverse generation, and so you still see a lot of white voters are still voting Republican like their parents. There is a gigantic generational divide. It starts to create some pretty interesting societal dynamics.”

Demas then shifted her focus from generational differences to the role that gender will place in the election, especially with respect to abortion. She explained that women consider abortion a higher priority than men, and an especially high priority this election. 

“Not surprisingly, one of the top issues that a lot of voters are looking for is abortion,” Demas said. “Especially for women, much more so than men, in that group. I would say that tracks with the university community here.”

After Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee, 40% of women under 30 said abortion is the most important issue, up from 20% previously, a trend Demas said underscores gender differences in the election. 

“(Women under 30) are much more amenable to voting for candidates who support their ideas on abortion and making that a top priority when casting their vote,” Demas said. “Abortion is one of those issues where there are big differences between presidential candidates. Harris is much more comfortable making the case for abortion rights and she has run hard on the theme of protecting people’s freedoms.” 

According to Demas, gender plays a different role in the Trump campaign. Demas said Trump has campaigned around masculinity and appearing tough, in hopes of appealing to men. 

“Trump has been running a very gendered campaign that goes under the radar a lot because when we think gendered we think women,” Demas said. “Obviously it goes both ways. He has been running very strongly on the concept of masculinity, which has been his appeal to men. His way to win the election is to activate less active voters — young men, Latino men (and) Black men.” 

Demas also said candidates have been appearing on podcasts central to their target audience, an example of how candidates are changing the way voters get their information. These podcasts indicate the audiences that the candidates are attempting to reach the most, according to Demas. She emphasized how Trump has been appearing on male-targeted podcasts, the result of which is seen in decreasing Democratic male support.

“Trump has been appearing a lot on these Manosphere podcasts, most famously Joe Rogan last week,” Demas said. “He has been doing some of the smaller ones as well. They have been hosting barber shop events. What we have seen, if the polls are accurate, is that Democrats do seem to be losing support among men, especially in African American communities.” 

Demas explained that Harris, on the other hand, is targeting younger groups, as she has appeared on other types of social media and podcasts, like Call Her Daddy. With Harris’ focus on abortion rights, she is increasingly targeting young women with her campaign. 

“Harris’ goal is to codify Roe v. Wade, and she has cast it as a freedom,” Demas said. “She is both Black and Indian American and there is an organization amongst the Divine Nine with her sorority sisters trying to get out the vote. She went on the Call Her Daddy podcast. There are just so many women driving the conversation.”

Third-year Law student Allison Anker said she attended the event because she wanted to understand how the framing and sources of information for voters impact their beliefs.

“One of my biggest takeaways is how, even if things are one way, views are dependent on where people get their information from and how they view the issue,” Anker said. “I think candidates essentially need to be meeting people where they are at, like going to podcasts or social media that the people are on.”

Daily Staff Reporter Maddyn Shapiro can be reached at maddyns@umich.edu.

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