2026
Preference for political compatibility is split by partisanship
How picky is America’s rising generation when it comes to dating and marriage? New research from Wendy Wang, IFS Director of Research, shows that liberal young adults are more likely to prize political compatibility than their conservative peers. Specifically, 60% of liberal women ages 18 to 29 said it is “very important” for their life partner to share their political views. This compares to 47% of young liberal men, 37% of young conversative men, and 36% of young conservative women who prioritize an ideological match with a life parter. Earlier research from Wang shows that political “mixed” couples are less likely to be satisfied with their marriages, with one caveat: couples of one Democrat and one Republican are about as happy as politically-aligned Democrat or Independent couples.
