Any person running for public office would benefit greatly by accessing and studying the Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC). (census.missouri.edu) In it is a plethora of important demographics figures that, to know or at least be aware, could help a campaign target its efforts and work. (For example, as gleaned from studying a colorful population dispersion map, Millennial seem to swell the population in cities and counties around college campuses and in the large cities in MO. While Boomers tend to live in rural counties around the Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock and Truman, emphasis on rural.) Keep this in mind a moment as we proceed. (https://census.missouri.edu/missouri-millennials-baby-boomers/)
An article published this week by St. Louis Public Radio (http://news.stlouispublicradio.org/post/Missouri) reported that new officers for leadership positions within the Missouri Democratic Party (MDP) were elected over the weekend. All of them, the article points out, were under the age of 40. So, the over-arching strategy of the MDP for 2018 and beyond is to court, recruit, and groom Millennial voters. No question that this is a sound and significant approach. The future after all belongs to them.
BUT, the executive committee, and Senator McCaskill, who is driving these initiatives, would do well to remember that Baby Boomers still constitute the greater majority of the population in Missouri. From the census data out of MCDC (see above), “Missouri bucks the national trend which indicates Millennial outnumber Boomers.” MCDC elaborates: “. . . of MO’s 115 counties, only 37 have more Millennial than Boomers.” That is 78 MO counties have greater senior populations (those of us over 60) than Millennial.
The federal census database at the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) provides further compelling information. It projects that seniors will constitute 20% of MO’s population by 2018. (In fact it’ll be a little greater by 2020.) Doing the math, given that the population of MO is about 6 million people, 1.2 million are Boomers.
Granted, we Boomer Democrats did not show well in 2016. But I ask those running for office: Don’t Ignore Baby Boomers. While Millennial will bring you one vote each, Boomers, by virtue of their time on this planet alone, can bring real world experience, wisdom drawn from it, more financial heft and well established personal and professional networks built over the years – plus that 1 vote each.
We can get lost in stats, to be sure. We will need all Democrats in 2018 to support Democratic Candidates to win back and gain seats statewide and nationally. But, MDP Executive Committee: Court and cultivate your senior base!
Submitted by Mark Kumming