Last week’s election was a call to reconsider our presumptions about voters

Our politics rely heavily on presumption. We presume how people might vote and what they think based on certain characteristics. We thereby make assumptions about the positions people hold, what they prioritize among those positions, and how they will then act as part of broader electoral groups.

Last Tuesday confirmed some of these presumptions. A gender gap remained that placed men more in the GOP camp and women more with the Democrats. The diploma divide also continues as those with more degrees increasingly vote progressive and working-class voters go for Republicans. Finally, the gap between rural voters and those in cities and suburbs remains, as vote totals in states such as Georgia attest.