The Selfie Vote

Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up)

Description

The GOP’s leading millennial pollster offers an eye-opening look at America’s shifting demographics and reveals how these changes will affect future elections.

The American electorate is undergoing a radical transformation. Cultural factors are reshaping how a new generation of voters considers issues. Demographic shifts are creating an increasingly diverse electorate, and technological advances are opening new avenues for voter contact and persuasion.

Kristen Soltis Anderson examines these hot-topic trends and how they are influencing the way youth, women, and minorities vote. Blending observations from focus groups, personal stories, and polling results, the Republican pollster offers key insights into the changing nature of American politics. The Selfie Vote introduces you to tech-savvy political consultants and shows you how these hip young pollsters and consultants are using data mining and social media to transform electoral politics—including tracking your purchasing history. Make some purchases at a high-end culinary store? Crave sushi? Your choices outside the ballot box can reveal how you might vote. And anyone interested in the future of politics should know where these cultural trends are heading.

Data-driven yet highly readable, The Selfie Vote busts established myths about campaigns and elections while offering insights about what’s ahead—and what it could mean for American politics and governance.


To win the future, a political party must first understand it.


  • Generational Politics: Why the Republican party is losing the millennial generation and how seemingly trivial things, like a preference for sushi or taking selfies, signal a deep shift in voter values.
  • The New Demographics: An inside look at the data showing how youth, women, and minority voters are reshaping the electorate and creating a new political landscape.
  • Campaign Technology: How tech-savvy consultants use everything from your social media posts to your shopping habits to build a profile, predict your vote, and transform modern campaigns.
  • A Path Forward for the GOP: A data-driven roadmap for how the Republican party can shed its outdated brand, connect with a new generation, and build a winning coalition for the future.

About the author(s)

Kristen Soltis Anderson is the cofounder of Echelon Insights, a public opinion and data analytics firm that helps campaigns and companies design their messages and strategies. She is a contributor at the Daily Beast, and was named one of Time magazine's "30 Under 30" in 2013. She also served as a fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics. She lives in Washington, DC.

Reviews

Millennials are poised to become the largest generation in the electorate. From selfies and Snapchat, to same-sex marriage and Social Security, Kristen Soltis Anderson has mined popular culture, polling crosstabs and her own personal story to produce a compelling portrait of how this historic transition will challenge both parties-but especially Republicans who have struggled to connect with this massive and increasingly decisive generation. Anyone who wants to understand how Millennials are reshaping the political balance of power won’t find a more engaging or insightful tour guide. - --Ronald Brownstein, Editorial Director of Strategic Partnerships at Altantic Media

“Anyone who wants to understand how Millennials are reshaping the political balance of power won’t find a more engaging or insightful tour guide. ” - Ronald Brownstein, Editorial Director, Strategic Partnerships

“Yes, yes, The Selfie Vote is smart, funny, and a pleasure to read, from beginning to end. But it’s also important. Too many of us believe that millennials are just like older Americans, only they’re a lot more likely to use emoji. As Kristen Soltis Anderson vividly demonstrates in these pages, growing up in a more urban, diverse, and entrepreneurial America has shaped the worldview of younger Americans in surprising and powerful ways, and this has enormous implications for our political future. If you want to know where our country is heading-to get elected, to sell widgets, to do anything at all-you’d be wise to read this book.” - Reihan Salam, executive editor of National Review

“Kristen Soltis Anderson has written a fresh and compelling portrait of the Millennial generation and how Republicans can win its votes. Fluent in polling, politics, and policy, Ms. Anderson makes a strong case that Republicans can attract young people by applying conservative principles to modern problems. Her knowledge of changing demography and voter analytics makes her insights especially valuable. Republicans would do well to listen to this talented young voice.” - Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

“As Kristen Soltis Anderson vividly demonstrates in these pages, growing up in a more urban, diverse, and entrepreneurial America has shaped the worldview of younger Americans in surprising and powerful ways, and this has enormous implications for our political future.” - Reihan Salam, executive editor of National Review

“Anderson has written a fresh and compelling portrait of the Millennial generation. Fluent in polling, politics, and policy,she makes a strong case that Republicans can attract young people by applying conservative principles to modern problems. Her knowledge of changing demography and voter analytics makes her insights especially valuable. ” - Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

More by Kristen Soltis Anderson

More American Government

More Political Science

More All Other Nonfiction

More Campaigns & Elections

More Political Process

More Political Parties

More National

More Demography

More Social Science

More Media Studies

More Research

More Civics & Citizenship