Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, polling at around 10 percent in the race with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. His candidacy is drawing attention to libertarian ideals and the people who embrace them, whom many believe are disproportionately white and male.
“Libertarianism is frequently accused of only appealing to white men, but data on American political identification finds the philosophy has much broader appeal — especially among millennials,” said Elizabeth Nolan Brown in an article for Reason.
Averaging results from 9 Reason-Rupe surveys conducted between 2012-2014 and a recent Cato Institute/YouGov survey, Emily Ekins of the Cato Institute found that among people who self-identify as libertarian, or as “someone whose political views emphasize individual freedom by limiting the role of government,” 71 percent are Caucasian, 14 percent are Latino, 5 percent are African-American, 8 percent identify as another race, and 4 percent chose not to identify.
While not an exact reflection, this racial breakdown is similar to the demographic make up of all respondents averaged across the surveys, and it exhibits more diversity within libertarianism than what popular media stereotypes tend to claim.
“Diversity increases further among millennial libertarians, reflecting the racial composition of the entire generation,” said Ekins. “Millennial libertarians reflect the racial/ethnic diversity of the national sample.”
Among millennials, or 18- to 29-year-olds, who self-identify as libertarian, Ekins found that 56 percent are white, 21 percent are Latino, 14 percent are African-American, 8 percent are Asian, and 1 percent identify as another race. Again, these numbers closely mirror those of all millennials surveyed.
While Ekins’ results show that libertarians are more racially and ethnically diverse than what is typically thought, the studies suggest that the ideology is still male-dominated when it comes to gender, citing that 63 percent of self-identified libertarians are male and 37 percent are female. The findings demonstrate a similar verdict among millennial libertarians with 68 percent being male and just 32 percent being female, though it’s clear that women, younger and older generations alike, still make up a significant portion of the liberty movement.
“In sum, Americans who choose to self-identify as libertarian in surveys tend to reflect the racial and ethnic demography of the United States more than is commonly realized, particularly among younger libertarians,” concluded Ekins. “However, self-identified libertarians are more likely to be male than female.”
