The Demographic the Democrats Don't Need

Terence P. Jeffrey
Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:39:01 -0800
Opinion

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, has a page on her official Senate website titled "Families and Children."

"Ultimately, our national well-being — our economic prosperity and our quality of life — depends on the strength of our families," she says on this page. "We must support strong families."

Klobuchar is not the only Senate Democrat to posture as a defender of the family.
Updated: Wed Feb 25, 2026

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, has a page on her official Senate website titled "Families and Children."

"Ultimately, our national well-being — our economic prosperity and our quality of life — depends on the strength of our families," she says on this page. "We must support strong families."

Klobuchar is not the only Senate Democrat to posture as a defender of the family.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did an interview with Time magazine in 2024 in which she described how motherhood changed her life.

"I got married at 19 and I had just turned 22 when Amelia was born," said Warren. "I suddenly had another human being that I would give up my life for. At the same time, every mistake I made was now magnified in the life of someone else. A bad decision didn't affect only me, it affected this vulnerable little person that I was responsible for."

But this empathy for the family that leading Democrats have expressed has not brought their party significant political support from traditional American families.

In December, the Census Bureau released updated historical tables on "America's Families and Living Arrangements." The bureau's data showed that, overall, the traditional family is on the decline in the United States. "(F)ewer than half (47%) of U.S. households in 2025 were married couples — a significant shift from 50 years earlier, when nearly two-thirds (66%) were," said the Census Bureau.

"The percentage of families with their own children under age 18 in the household declined from 54% in 1975 to 39% in 2025," it said.

And there is a definite political trend in congressional districts that depends on the type of households they are populated with.

According to the data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, Democrats had a better chance of representing congressional districts where a small percentage of households were married couple families with children under 18. Republicans, meanwhile, had a better chance of representing districts where a larger percentage of households were married couple families with children under 18.

In 2025, according to the Census Bureau data, Democrats represented 46 of the 50 districts (including the District of Columbia) with the lowest percentages of married couple family households with their own children under 18.

By contrast, Republicans represented 14 of the 20 districts with the highest percentages of married couple family households with their own children under 18.

Ohio's 11th Congressional District had the lowest percentage of households (7.4%) occupied by married couple families with children under 18. It was represented by Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown.

Utah's 4th Congressional District had the highest percentage of households (32.4%) occupied by married couple families with children under 18. It was represented by Republican Rep. Burgess Owens.

Among the 50 districts with the lowest percentages of households occupied by married couple families with children under 18, only four were represented by Republicans. But these four also ranked among the congressional districts with the highest percentages of their populations that were 65 and older. These were individuals, in other words, who, if they were parents, likely would have already raised their children past the age of 18.

These four elderly congressional districts included Florida's 17th, represented by Republican Rep. Greg Steube, which ranked first for the percentage of its population 65 and older (34.9%). Florida's 13th, represented by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, which ranked third for the percentage of its population 65 and older (29.1%); Florida's 6th, represented by Republican Rep. Randy Fine, which ranked fourth (28.5%); and South Carolina's 7th, represented by Republican Rep. Russell Fry, which ranked 14th (25%).

Luna's Florida district, which ranked 9th for the lowest percentage of married couple households with children under 18 (9.9%), was also the only one among the 20 districts with the lowest percentages of those households that was represented by a Republican.

After Ohio's 11th Congressional District, which led the nation with the lowest percentage of households (7.4%) occupied by married couple families with children under 18, came Pennsylvania's 3rd District, which ranked second (8.4%). It was represented by Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans.

New York's 13th District ranked third (8.9%). It was represented by Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat.

Maryland's 7th District ranked fourth (9.1%). It was represented by Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume.

Illinois' 7th District ranked fifth (9.3%). It was represented by Democratic Rep. Danny Davis.

A continuing decline in the traditional family would help the Democrats gains seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.