Over the past few decades, ideological divisions between political parties have become a big part of American politics. Lots of folks have looked into why this polarization happens and what it means (like Mc Carty, Poole, and Rosenthal Reference Mc Carty, Poole and Rosenthal2016). But there’s another split showing up too: one based on education. Recently, Grossmann and Hopkins (Reference Grossmann and Hopkins2024) highlighted what they call a “diploma divide” between Republican and Democratic voters. Since 2000, most white Americans without college degrees lean Republican, while those with college degrees tend to side more with Democrats. This link between education level and party choice has shaped how people vote, especially in presidential elections.
More than just voting, Grossmann and Hopkins (Reference Grossmann and Hopkins2024) point out differences in attitudes-things like backing progressive policies or trusting experts-that connect with whether someone went to college and which party they support. So these differing views between parties about trusting academic experts or institutions might naturally come from their core supporters having very different college experiences.
But what about political leaders themselves? Do we see this educational split among lawmakers like members of Congress? It might seem like a silly question since almost everyone in Congress since the 1980s has a college degree. So maybe education itself isn’t the big divider between Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Footnote 1 Still, not all colleges are equal. Going to certain top schools can open doors professionally and shape politicians’ viewpoints differently than going to other schools.
Looking at data on where members of Congress got their degrees from 1973 to 2023 (the 93rd through 117th Congresses), we find that a clear gap has formed over time between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to attending elite universities for undergrad or grad school. Whether because some think universities lean liberal (e. g., Abrams and Khalid Reference Abrams and Khalid2020) or because Republican voters are wary of elite schooling (e. g., Gift and Lastra-Anadón Reference Gift and Lastra-Anadón2018), fewer Republicans in Congress have gone to top-tier institutions now compared to the ’70s. Back then, about 40% of Republican representatives had attended elite schools; today it’s down to around 15%. In the Senate, the drop is from 55% down to about 35%. On the flip side, elite-educated Democrats have stayed steady or even grown somewhat: over half of Democratic senators and nearly 40% of Democratic representatives went to top schools.
We believe these differences matter-especially now when political leaders are criticizing colleges under the Trump administration’s watch. In this piece, we show that these educational divides match other trends seen in recent Congressional history. First off, for both parties, lawmakers from elite schools tend to be more liberal than their peers who didn’t attend such places. Second, elite-educated Democrats in the House seem better at passing legislation compared to others-but this doesn’t hold true for Republicans in either chamber. Lastly, Republicans without an elite education often take a harder line politically; for example only about 10% of the so-called “Gingrich Senators” during the combative ’90s had attended elite colleges.
We think political scientists should pay more attention to how having an elite educational background shapes politicians’ behavior. Footnote 2 Outside America it’s pretty well known that many top politicians share similar schooling paths – like Eton followed by Oxford in Britain or University of Tokyo grads dominating Japan’s bureaucracy. Highlighting these partisan splits over education here helps explain why politicians across parties may struggle more today forming shared networks or ideas-which then impacts policy making.
Also worth noting is that these changes suggest permanent shifts within congressional Republicans too. Those who went to elite colleges were often ideologically out-of-step as their party moved rightward (e. g., Canes-Wrone, Brady, and Cogan Reference Canes-Wrone, Brady and Cogan2002) but didn’t really have extra perks like better lawmaking skills that would keep them electable longer term. Over time they’ve been replaced by staunch conservatives less connected by shared educational backgrounds with Democrats-possibly helping fuel current anti-institution sentiments among many GOP leaders.
Put simply: recent decades might’ve turned two parties with fairly similar educated leadership into two groups whose leaders come from pretty different educational worlds-a reflection as much as a driver of growing divides among their voters too. Maybe if there’d been stronger resistance within Congress against anti-elite feelings rising inside Republican ranks earlier on then populism wouldn’t have taken hold so quickly or deeply among them yet today’s wide social gaps between each party’s base hint that bridging these divides will only get tougher going forward.
Tracking How Elite-Educated Republicans Have Fallen
To understand how much fewer Republicans with fancy educations there are now-and what effects that may bring-we collected info on every member of House & Senate serving from 1973-2023 (the 93rd-117th Congress). We looked at where they did their undergraduate studies plus any graduate/professional programs like law school or business school attended later on-then marked whether those institutions were “elite.”
There are different ways you could decide which schools count as “elite.” One way is just calling out old favorites-the Ivy League universities-for instance-but sticking only with those misses lots of other very selective places lacking Ivy cachet but still highly ranked academically.
Another way might focus directly on student stats like average SAT scores or acceptance rates-but those numbers aren’t perfect proxies either because applicants self-select heavily affecting acceptance rates; also older historical test score data isn’t always available publicly over long periods.
Our method sticks broadly close to this bigger picture idea but avoids some tricky parts mentioned above by building off Wai’s approach (Reference Wai2013), which used median student test scores reported by US News & World Report rankings around 2013-as those medians put students at top percentiles nationally for chosen elite schools. Since our data goes back before then where medians weren’t reported consistently though we tweaked his method slightly: after seeing Wai’s list lined up well with US News’ overall top-20 rankings across years spanning ‘87-‘09 for colleges/universities; ‘87-‘03 for law schools; ‘91-‘09 for business schools (no official biz rankings earlier); we called any institution appearing within these lists more than three quarters (>75%) of time frames “elite.”Footnote 3 Cole (Reference Cole2009) notes such rankings stay mostly steady over long stretches anyway regardless which ranking system you pick-which supports our consistent coding approach presented below as table 1 listing all included elites.
Table 1 List of Elite Educational Institutions
Just glancing at table 1 shows how many famous academic powerhouses made our list-from every Ivy League school through respected liberal arts colleges like Williams College plus public flagships such as University of Virginia included too. If a legislator attended any undergrad or grad program-including law/business school-at one listed institution frequently found among tops they’re coded as having an “elite” background. Footnote 4 Later sections check if results shift using alternative ways defining elites.
From here patterns jump out clearly when looking at how many members held such credentials across recent decades shown next in figure 1. First off senators overall carry higher shares holding degrees from elites versus representatives-in total roughly forty-four percent vs twenty-six percent respectively. Secondly democrats staying steady if not gaining ground overtime : nearly half senate democrats held such credentials back around ‘73 , climbing above fifty recently ; house democrats moving upward similarly-from thirty percent then near forty percent now. This consistency surprises given demographics shifting toward greater representation female/minorities traditionally underrepresented elites. Footnote 5
Figure 1 Decline In The Percentage Of Elite-Educated Republicans In Congress
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Figure 1 Decline In The Percentage Of Elite-Educated Republicans In Congress
Thirdly , quite differently , we’ve seen a steep drop-off among GOP members. In House seats , those flagged as holding an elite degree fell sharply – starting near forty percent back during the early seventies congress sessions down closer toward fifteen percent today. Among Senators , numbers dropped even further – going from well over fifty-five percent down below thirty-five lately. Footnote 6 That creates quite significant splits now along party lines both chambers alike. Footnote 7
While here we’re focusing mainly on congress itself , it’s helpful briefly glance outside legislative branch. Supreme Court Justices show no real partisan difference re attending an elite school – virtually all sitting currently including Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett earned law degrees at high-ranking programs. Footnote 8 Elsewhere federally notable divides exist though : observers note Biden White House staffers include far higher shares Ivy League grads (~42%) relative first Trump admin counterparts (~21%)(Lippman Reference Lippman2021). Our own checks show cabinets vary similarly – Nixon/Ford/Reagan admins saw majority cabinet members coming out prestigious universities whereas George W Bush dropped slightly below majority mark ; Trump’s first cabinet dipped further still just above third mark ; Clinton/Biden got mid-to-high fifties percentages ; Obama topped seventy-five percent status earned degrees listed elites.
Specific examples give clearer view behind broad trends shown figure two below tracks Harvard degree holders : Democrats’ presence rising steadily since early seventies while GOP counterpart ratio nose-dived sharply – roughly ten point parity initially shifting dramatically toward Dem advantage by present day session starting ’21.
Figure Two Harvard Graduates By Party House Representatives
Likewise figure three highlights Yale alumni proportions among senators displaying striking reversals since mid-twentieth century; republicans once dominated Yale grads presence whereas dems rose steadily surpassing G. O. P after early twenty-first century commencement dates. Perhaps notably no republican senator after twenty-first century start holds undergrad Yale diploma Footnote 9 Auxiliary charts A1/A2 explore nonelite attendance gains primarily public flagship categories filling void left declines elsewhere Footnote 10
Figure Three Yale Undergraduate Degrees Senate Party Breakdown
Looking beyond raw counts towards election-related impacts suggests interesting points worth studying further. One example being noted correlation strong family income neighborhoods correlate higher odds kids attend prestige campuses(Chetty et al. Reference Chetty, Friedman Saez Turner Yagan 20). Our findings imply GOP increasingly draws nominees diverse socioeconomic backgrounds relative Dem counterparts Footnote 11. In addition voter preferences appear shifting amongst core bases giving less favor toward candidates boasting ivy league pedigrees. Some noted figures(Ron De Santis, Vice President J. D. Vance both yale alums) deliberately downplay highlight their school histories campaigning Footnote 12. We focus here on legislators conduct ideology efficiency prior electoral concerns Footnotes 13.
Elite Educated Lawmakers Lean More Liberal
Going through selective colleges tends change outlooks emerge professions somewhat differently sometimes causing worry. People historically debated founding new state unis Jefferson preferred UVA alternative sending Virginians Harvard fearing they’d return fanatics/tories(Meacham Reference Meacham2012, 469). Conservative William Buckley famously joked preferring Boston telephone directory officials governing USA rather Harvard profs(Shaw Reference Shaw2011).
To examine ideological leanings linked education, we use DW-NOMINATE roll-call voting scores standard legislative tool(Poole, Rosenthal Ref1997) These place legislators left (-ve values, more liberal) right(+ve values conservative). We ran regressions checking effect attending elitist university controlling various factors including party seniority committee posts gender race vote margins. Descriptive stats appear appendix table A123(Volden, Wai Wiseman upcoming). Results tables A24and A34 show reps, sens educated elitist campuses more liberal relative peers party aligned. Effect especially strong statistically substantive conservative wing. Figures plot effects visually(in fig four): notable variance exists nevertheless educated republicans half std dev liberals peers house almost two-thirds sd senate. Sizes comparable republican women generally liberal men differences. Effects hold controlling region accounting northeast declining GOP south growth. Totally same applying strict Ivy only classification tables A78 appendix. Robustness checks removing professional/law/biz grades leaving pure undergraduate measured effects comparable see appendix Table A4. Also created variable counting number elite institutions per legislator finding multiple attendees tilt more liberal again robust signs Table A419 footnotes.
Figure Four Elite Educated Legislators Shift Leftward Ideology Coefficients And Confidence Intervals Shown. Note Full regression results models refer tables A22, A25, A32, A35 Appendix All indicate significant statistical shifts liberals comparing peer groups without such schooling Background info here important context increasing polarization puts educated republicans apart directionally conservative trends within own ranks.
Elite Education Doesn’t Boost Republican Lawmaking Power
Another trait possibly tied education concerns legislative effectiveness. Maybe politicos schooled fancy lead better outcomes akin Fortune CEO studies(Wai, Rindermann Ref2015), maybe bias grants easy passes effectiveness claims similar research women congress(Anzia Berry Ref2017) We examined Volden Wiseman Legislative Effectiveness Scores measuring bill sponsorship progress rates passage stages normalized averages across chambers studied closely previously confirming no partisan LES gaps controlling majorities. Minor checks done regarding influence representing edu background added new dimension Tables A910 depict findings broadly null except democratic house folks see uplift near seventeen percent otherwise flat. Specifically educated republicans no obvious gains endorsing theory absence advantages keeps incumbents vulnerable electorally Figure five visualizes key contrasts points emphasizing robustness analyses surrounding alternative IV definitions Ivies_only etc shown Appendix Figures A11112 accompany primary tests reinforcing consistency conclusions agreed lack effect besides House Democrat boost. Survey experiments primaries confirm voters prefer effective lawmakers Butler et al Treul et al refs suggesting failings visible election success claims contrary republican elites offer little leverage impress constituents hence diminishing returns contrast democrat stratum maintains efficacy edge raising probability survival office longer-term position tenure confidence margin votes held.
Figure Five No Extra Effectiveness For Elitist Repub Lawmakers Note Statistically Significant Effects Marked Closed Circles Bold Lines See Tables Models Referenced Full Details Given Footnotes Clarify Results Show Only Democratically Leaning Members Gain Meaningful Advantages Legislature While GOP Peers Show None Otherwise Similar Performance Patterns Explored Controls Included
How Gingrich Senators Reflect Educational Shifts
Beyond individual votes effectiveness declining share republican legislators coming from prestigious backgrounds seems tied broader fracturing ruling coalitions. The rise Gingrich Senators during fierce partisan battles ’90s offers key glimpse Theriault(Ref Theriault2013)argues spread divisive conflict lower chamber upper house stems partly group composition changes involving personal histories. Between104th106th Congrss periods first full republican control houses following ’94 election till Jeffords changed affiliation early ’01 Sixty eight distinct republican senators served amidst waves transition period Around30percent qualified being considered elitely trained Yet comparing dividing lines Gingrich veterans versus traditional moderates reveals sharp contrast mere10percent Gingrich set attended major selectives versus nearly four times fraction other republican senators. This difference statistically meaningful(p ). Though causal proof limited clear correlation present indicative forces restructuring polarity dynamics. Legislator Jeffords reflecting observed shift lamented disconnect quoting:”Increasingly, I find myself…disagreement…I understand…more conservative…and changing nature…struggle deal them”(Graff Ref Graff2001).
Wrapping Up Thoughts On Education And Politics
We believe tracking elected officials’ attendance at prestigious universities is important. Republican share holding such credentials cut roughly by half last fifty years compared stable Democratic levels. Moreover estimating links reveals repeatedly alumni trend correlates strongly increased ideological liberalism particularly stark inside GOP ranks. Future work exploring polarizations role beneficial. Also find senate democrat electorates enjoying enhanced lawmaking abilities absent matched gains rest sector. Finally decline relating gingrich emergence evident signaling institutional transformations underway amid contemporary US politics. As trump era sees heightened criticism targeting academia federal contracts freezes large grants suspended targeting several premier names Harvard Columbia Brown alongside congressional bills expanding excise taxes focused private endowments disproportionately hitting coded elitist entities-all underpinning deep divides over schooling backgrounds rising sharply last five decades. Complex causality remains unclear questions linger whether fewer future GOP hopefuls seeking/applying/admitted enrollingschools pathways local offices reluctant runs funding hurdles await causes lagging support differ substantially vs democrats. Moreover consequences representation quality policy directions merits study particularly given disparate ties electorate educations. Differences extend executive branches seen varying cabinet compositions presidents perhaps widespread global patterns emerging state governments worthy examination. Given breakdown longstanding bipartisan governing classes sharing common formative experiences concerns grow regarding governance/policy coherence divided leadership cohorts lack mutual grounding rooted traditions taught halls illustrious establishments shaping outlooks. And so American democracy faces challenges navigating increasingly separate ruling classes divided not merely politically but culturally scholastically alike awaiting answers forthcoming scholarship insights ongoing social developments shaping nation trajectory tomorrow.
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