The 2020 elections are significant for many reasons. But perhaps most importantly this could be the last hurrah for the Silent Generation, those born between 1924 and 1944, and it is also the beginning of the end of the Baby Boomer era of politics. What the passing of these two generations may mean for American politics is potentially dramatic, especially as it bodes in the next decade a possible dramatic shift to the left in America.
Political scientists commonly analyze variables such as race, class, and gender in terms of their impact on voting behavior and political attitudes. But they generally pay less attention to the concept of generations. But sociologists and some political scientists believe generations have a major impact in terms of how we can explain political change.