Conservative couples vastly outpace their liberal counterparts in getting hitched and having children, according to the Institute for Family Studies.
The institute found that, for young conservative men and women, family is more likely to be viewed as an absolute benefit.
In the 2020s, a majority of conservative young adults ages 25-35 have married and become parents, while only a minority of their liberal counterparts have done the same. And the chasm between the left and right in family formation appears to be expanding, according to the analysis.
The findings are based on data from the General Social Survey by NORC at the University of Chicago.
Marriage rates were higher in the 1980s when American conservatives and liberals were marrying at similar rates by the time they became adults. During that era, conservatives usually married earlier, and the marriage gap between conservative and liberal young adults was just over 10 points.
Since the 1980s, marriage rates have declined for both conservatives and liberals, but the rate of decline has been greater among liberals, for both men and women.
The largest gap was among women who were “ever married,” a demographic term for a person who has been married at least once in their life, regardless of their current marital status.
“Pooling data from 2021, 2022 and 2024, we found the largest gap to date between conservatives and liberals in the share of women ages 25 to 35 ever married in the 2020s,” the researchers said. “For this decade, there was a 16-percentage point difference between young conservative women compared to young liberal women in the share ever married, at 60% and 44%, respectively.”
Conservatives are also more likely to have children during young adulthood than young liberal married couples.
The study also found that the 10 states with the highest margin of victory for President Trump in the 2024 election had an 11% decline in their aggregate birth rate from 2001 to 2024, while the 10 states with the highest margins of victory for former Vice President Kamala Harris had a 25% decrease in their aggregate birth rate.
“Coupled with migration, we get a picture of differing demographic trajectories,” the researchers said.
Targeting China’s influence on U.S. education
Three pieces of legislation that chip away at the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in U.S. classrooms are coming to the House Floor, and the conservative Eagle Forum will be tracking how each lawmaker votes.
Eagle Forum alerted House members that it supports the three GOP-authored bills and will add those votes to its congressional scorecard.
“The ‘America First’ agenda comes in many different forms, such as protecting our borders, economy, culture, and livelihoods, just to name a few,” Eagle Forum said. “One overarching problem that spans each of these areas is the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It has become a weed, creeping into every facet of our society, including the public school system.”
The House will vote this week on a pair of bills that will pull federal funding from public school districts that participate in Confucius Classrooms, programs funded by China to promote the Chinese language and culture.
The bill gave schools currently involved with the program one year to end it.
The Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act, or the CLASS Act, introduced by Rep. David Joyce of Ohio, would bar federal funding for public elementary and secondary schools that accept funds from China or enter into contracts with China.
A similar piece of legislation was introduced by Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, titled the Promoting Responsible Oversight To Eliminate Communist Teachings for Our Kids Act, or the PROTECT Our Kids Act.
The third bill, introduced by Rep. Aaron Bean of Florida, known as the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act, would require parental notification of any foreign funding of school programs.
Lawmakers pushed to overhaul permits for drilling oil
A broad coalition of business groups from across the energy supply chain urged congressional lawmakers to support proposed changes to the federal oil permitting system.
The coalition said it will ensure Americans have access to affordable, reliable energy as demand ramps up.
“Rising energy demand and increasing power costs are exposing the immediate need for more energy infrastructure. Unfortunately, weaknesses in the existing permitting process are preventing essential projects from advancing,” the groups wrote in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
“Clear, consistent, durable permitting statutes and rules are crucial to ensuring that projects proceed through the permitting process to completion.”
The House is expected to hold votes this week on three bills that would change the permits.
The coalition said the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act would return the landmark 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to its “intended purpose” of protecting the environment while allowing timely infrastructure development.
“This bipartisan legislation takes critical steps to reforming a permitting system that too often chills investment, creates uncertainty, and increases costs and delays for essential energy infrastructure projects,” the organizations wrote.
The letter’s signatories included the American Petroleum Institute, American Exploration & Production Council, American Gas Association, American Clean Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, Liquid Energy Pipeline Association and Natural Gas Supply Association.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com.
