Baby Boomers’ Have a Soft Spot for This Liberal Politician

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• The gap between Republican and Democratic baby boomers is narrow: 35% to 32%.
• The following dozen Democratic politicians had the highest favorability ratings among boomers.

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Another election year has many of us thinking about presidential candidates and the parties they represent. Kamala Harris, stepping in for Joe Biden, is the Democratic choice in 2024. But there has been a long list of Democratic politicians throughout American history. The Democratic party is not only the oldest active political party in the nation, but it is also the oldest active political party in the world! It got its start in 1828. It was once the party of the common men, riveling the only other major political party in the United States, the Republican party. Originally, Democrats stood for individual rights but opposed the civil rights of African Americans. As such, this party dominated the South. However, as the Democratic Party evolved throughout its two-century history, it grew to embody minority rights, advocating for inclusivity, progressive reforms, and income equality.

Baby boomers are currently between 60 and 78 years old and comprise more than 20% of the American population. They have had an enormous impact on American society for decades, and that continues to be the case in the 2020s, even with millennials and Generation X now in their prime.

Polling data suggests that Americans tend to become more conservative as they age. Yet, the gap between baby boomers who identify as Republican and Democrat is narrow: 35% to 32%, respectively. Plenty of high-profile Democrats remain popular with many people in this generation.

To find out which Democratic politicians baby boomers favor the most, we reviewed 2024 first-quarter polling data at YouGov, an international research and analytics organization with a strong reputation. The following dozen Democratic politicians had the highest favorability ratings from baby boomers, though most of them rank highly with millennials and Gen X as well.

Why We Are Talking About This

Election season is upon us, with many claiming it to be the biggest global election year in history, even more critical than 2016’s ‘Trump Surprise’ or 2020’s massive Republican upset that led to January 6th. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris recently stole the Democratic spotlight, as President Biden dropped out of the race. She is widely viewed as an infinitely more capable candidate than Joe Biden. In 2004, Harris was district attorney of San Fransisco, advocating for LGBTQ rights. She later became California’s Attorney General, before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2017. She made American history when she was elected the first female vice president, as well as the nation’s first black and Asian VP. As November 5th approaches, let’s take a look at some of America’s most likable democrats.

12. Hillary Clinton

• Born October 26, 1947, in Chicago
• Democratic presidential nominee in 2016
• Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013
• U.S. Senator from New York, 2001 to 200
• Popularity rating among boomers: 37%

First Lady to Presidential Contender

As the first lady of the United States, Clinton advocated for health care reform and women’s rights. She was the first female senator from New York and the first First Lady to simultaneously hold elected office. She ran for president twice and was the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party. Clinton continues to fundraise for progressive political groups and is chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast

11. Nancy Pelosi

• Born March 26, 1940, in Baltimore
• Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2007 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023
• U.S. Representative from California since 1987
• Popularity rating among boomers: 39%

The Most Powerful Woman in U.S. History?

Pelosi began her political career as an advocate on behalf of those impacted by HIV/AIDS. On becoming House minority leader in 2003, she was the first woman to do so, and she was the first woman to become speaker in 2007. She has been widely characterized as a polarizing political figure. She was a critic of the Iraq War, and she spearheaded the Affordable Care Act. President Obama called Pelosi “one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had,” and some analysts consider her the most powerful woman in U.S. history

10. Gabby Giffords

• Born June 8, 1970, in Tucson
• U.S. Representative from Arizona, 2007 to 2012
• Arizona Senate from 2003 to 2005
• Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003
• Popularity rating among boomers: 39%

Gun Control Activist

Giffords is a retired politician and gun control activist. Expanding health care access and improving education and health care for Arizona’s children were her focus in the state legislature. In the Senate, she advocated for comprehensive immigration reform and for solar energy, and she voted to raise the minimum wage and to repeal $14 billion of subsidies to big oil companies.

She survived an assassination attempt in 2011, afterward becoming a dedicated advocate for anti-gun-violence causes. Giffords was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on July 7, 2022. (See which gun control policies have the most support from Republicans and Democrats.)

9. Kamala Harris

• Born October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California
• Vice President of the United States since 2021
• U.S. Senator from California, 2017 to 2021
• Attorney General of California from 2011 to 2017
• District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011
• Popularity rating among boomers: 41%

An Influential Vice President

Harris was the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African American and first Asian-American vice president. As a senator, she advocated for health care reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, strict gun control laws, and progressive tax reform. As vice president, she was tasked with leading the negotiations with Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador on migration issues. She has cast more than 30 tiebreaking votes in the Senate, a record.

Newsweek included Harris among “20 of America’s Most Powerful Women,” and she made Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

8. Bill Clinton

• Born August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas
• 42nd President of the United States, 1993 to 2001
• Governor of Arkansas, 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1992
• Attorney General of Arkansas from 1977 to 1979
• Popularity rating among boomers: 41%

The Baby Boomer President

Clinton was the first baby boomer president, and he presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. He signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, as well as nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite scandal and impeachment, he left office in 2001 with the joint-highest approval rating of any U.S. president. Since then, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work, including being United Nations special envoy to Haiti. He remains active in Democratic Party politics.

7. Elizabeth Warren

• Born June 22, 1949, in Oklahoma City
• Senator from Massachusetts since 2013
• Special advisor, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2010 to 2011
• Popularity rating among boomers: 42%

She Persisted

Warren began her career in academia, and she was involved in bankruptcy regulation and consumer protection by the mid-1990s. She was an early advocate for creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She served on the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee. In rebuking Warren, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor, “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” However, McConnell’s language became a slogan for Warren and for others. The New Statesman named Warren among the “top 20 U.S. progressives.”

6. Joe Biden

• Born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania
• 46th President of the United States since 2021
• Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017
• U.S. Senator from Delaware, 1973 to 2009
• Popularity rating among boomers: 43%

Loquacious and Passionate

In the Senate, Biden focused on consumer protection and environmental issues, and he called for greater government accountability. He also strongly supported increased Amtrak funding and rail security. He was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 1988 and 2008 he ran for president. As vice president, Biden coordinated with Iraq, oversaw infrastructure spending, and was key in negotiations with Congress.

With Biden as president, the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization, and he signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. He continued the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and has been a strong advocate of aid to Ukraine. He has been described as loquacious, and he acknowledges that he can be prone to gaffes.

5. Bernie Sanders

• Born September 8, 1941, in Brooklyn
• U.S. Senator from Vermont since 2007
• U.S. Representative from Vermont, 1991 to 2007
• Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, from 1981 to 1989
• Popularity rating among boomers: 44%

A Progressive Leader

Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history and a leader of the U.S. progressive movement. His presidential runs in 2016 and 2020 received significant grassroots enthusiasm. He supports labor rights, universal and single-payer health care, tuition-free tertiary education, and an ambitious Green New Deal to create jobs by addressing climate change. He opposed the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq, and the influence of lobbyists in government. Sanders has had a close relationship with the Biden administration. (See the
33 U.S. Senators whose popularity is on the rise.)

4. Pete Buttigieg

• Born January 19, 1982, in South Bend, Indiana
• U.S. Secretary of Transportation since 2021
• Mayor of South Bend from 2012 to 2020
• Popularity rating among boomers: 46%

Mayor Pete

Besides being a Harvard graduate and a Rhodes Scholar, Buttigieg is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve who served in Afghanistan. His rise to national prominence was furthered when he became a Democratic candidate for president in 2020. In his cabinet post, he has addressed racial inequity in public works and was a promoter of the American Jobs Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He also headed a task force to address supply chain disruptions. Insiders have called Buttigieg “the most powerful transportation secretary ever.”

3. Madeleine Albright

• Born May 15, 1937, in Prague
• U.S. Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001
• U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997
• Died March 23, 2022
• Popularity rating among boomers: 51%

A Fighter for Freedom and Human Rights

Albright was a fierce advocate for democracy and human rights around the world and a staunch supporter of NATO. She was the first woman to become Secretary of State, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Biden said at her funeral, “With her goodness and grace, her humanity, and her intellect, she turned the tide of history.”

2. Barack Obama

• Born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu
• 44th President of the United States, 2009 to 2017
• U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2005 to 2008
• Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004
• Popularity rating among boomers: 55%

A Profile in Courage

Obama started his career as a civil rights lawyer and community organizer in Chicago. He served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He was the first African American president in U.S. history. As president, Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 economic stimulus and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He withdrew troops from Iraq, ordered the raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed, and restored relations with Cuba.

Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize and was recognized internationally as the most popular and most respected world leader. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum awarded the Profile in Courage Award to him “for his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage.” Obama continues to be active on the world stage.

1. Jimmy Carter

• Born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia
• 39th President of the United States, 1977 to 1981
• Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975
• Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967
• Popularity rating among boomers: 67%

Lifelong Humanitarian

Carter graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. His support of the civil rights movement led him to activism and politics. As president, he created a national energy policy and successfully pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. He established the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Education.

Afterward, he established the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections, and further the eradication of infectious diseases. He is a key figure in the nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity. Although his presidency received a mixed reception, his activities in his post-presidency, the longest in U.S. history, have been lauded.

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