Voters at Franklin Elementary School in Kent, Ohio, on Nov. six. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

The stark demographic and educational divisions that have come to define American politics were clearly evident in voting preferences in the 2018 congressional elections.

In 2018 vote, sizable gender, race and education dividesThere were wide differences in voting preferences betwixt men and women, whites and nonwhites, as well as people with more than and less educational attainment.

Nationally, voters favored Democratic candidates for Congress over Republican candidates by a margin of about 7 percentage points, co-ordinate to a preliminary gauge by The New York Times. (With votes still being tabulated in some states, this margin may change.) Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, while Republicans appear to have added to their majority in the Senate.

The gender gap in voting preference is not new, but it is at least every bit wide equally at any point over the past two decades, according to exit polls by the National Election Pool, as reported by CNN. Women favored the Autonomous candidate in their commune past 19 pct points (59% to 40%) while men voted for the Republican 51% to 47%. (The exit polls offer the beginning await at the electorate; the portrait volition be refined over time as additional information, such as state voter files, go available).

The go out polls show divisions across racial and educational groups, as well. As was the instance in the 2016 presidential election, white men voted Republican by a wide margin (lx% to 39%) while white women were divided (49% favored the Democratic candidate; as many supported the Republican).

Blacks voted overwhelmingly (xc%) for the Democratic candidate, including comparable shares of blackness men (88%) and black women (92%).

(For more on long-term trends in voters' party identification, run across "Broad Gender Gap, Growing Educational Divide in Voters' Identification." For a detailed study of demographic divisions in the 2016 electorate based on voter records, see "For Most Trump Voters 'Very Warm' Feelings for Him Endured.")

When gender, race and education are considered together, women higher graduates stand out for their strong preference for the Democratic candidate (59% favored the Democrat while just 39% voted Republican). Whites with less educational activity – particularly men – supported the Republican. White men who do not have a college degree voted Republican by about 2-to-one (66% to 32%).

Younger adults voted Democratic by a wide margin; older voters were dividedThe age dissever in voting, which barely existed in the early 2000s, as well is big. Majorities of voters ages 18 to 29 (67%) and 30 to 44 (58%) favored the Democratic candidate. Voters ages 45 and older were divided (50% Republican, 49% Democrat).

Among voters who said this was the start midterm in which they voted, 62% favored the Democrat and just 36% supported the Republican.

Every bit is typically the case with midterm elections, views of the president were a major factor in the issue. In September, Pew Enquiry Center establish that a majority of registered voters (lx%) said they viewed their vote as either a vote for or confronting President Donald Trump.

The national exit poll found that more voters said their midterm vote was to oppose Trump (38%) than said it was to support him (26%); 33% said Trump was non a factor in their vote. The midterm vote also was highly correlated with views of Trump'south chore functioning: Among those who canonical of the president (45% of all voters), 88% voted for the Republican. Among the larger share who disapproved (54%), an overwhelming percentage voted Democratic (90%).

Attitudes on racial advantages, sexual harassment tied to midterm voteIn a year in which problems effectually gender and racial diversity have been cardinal issues in politics, voters were divided in their opinions almost whether whites or minorities are favored in the country today and whether sexual harassment is a serious problem in the U.S.

Overall, 41% of voters said whites in the country today are favored over minorities; 19% said that minorities are favored over whites, while 33% said that no group is favored. Attitudes on this question were strongly correlated with vote choice. Among those who said whites are favored in the U.S., 87% voted for Democrats. By dissimilarity, big majorities of those who said minorities are favored (85%) or that no group is favored (69%) voted for Republican candidates.

Views of the seriousness of the problem of sexual harassment also were closely tied to midterm preferences: 72% of those who said it is a very serious problem supported Democratic candidates. Amidst those who said it was a somewhat serious problem, Republican candidates held a slim border (50% vs. 48%). And while relatively few voters said sexual harassment is not also serious a problem (eleven%), this grouping voted overwhelmingly Republican (79% vs. 20%).

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Fundamental takeaways about Latino voters in the 2018 midterm elections

Alec Tyson is an associate director of research at Pew Research Centre.