Wall Street Journal: “Many demographers believed that births would rebound as the economy recovered, but that trend hasn’t materialized.”

“A fertility rate falling farther below replacement level [of 2.1] means that, without enough immigrants, the U.S. could see population declines and a workforce too small to support a growing segment of retirees. Last year, it fell to 1.7, a record low.”

Axios: “Next year, the entire under 18 population will be majority non-white… In less than a decade, the population under 30 will be majority non-white.”

The Economist: “It made for an awkward first-date conversation. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend in Indiana, recalls that he and Chasten Glezman talked about how he would be seeking higher political office. How would his boyfriend-to-be—now husband—feel about the public scrutiny? And how might voters respond to a same-sex couple on the campaign trail?”

“Mr Buttigieg had an inkling voters would mostly shrug. He had been nervous about coming out as the incumbent mayor in 2015, but he went on to win re-election that year with 80% of the vote. In South Bend even conservatives and Catholics cared more about his efforts to revive a once-struggling industrial city or his spell soldiering in Afghanistan. Almost the only time his sexual orientation now gets mentioned, he says, is when somebody wants to tell him they are at ease with it. Attitudes to once controversial issues can flip from bold to normal with baffling speed, he says.”

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that a combined 68% of Americans are either enthusiastic (14%) or comfortable (54%) with a presidential candidate who is gay or lesbian.

As recently as 2006, more than half of Americans said they would be “very uncomfortable” (34%) or have “reservations” (19%) about a gay or lesbian person running for president.

A new Pew Research poll finds that 59% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe that having a majority of the population made up of blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other racial minorities by the year 2050 will weaken American customs and values.

Just 13% of Republicans say the coming demographic milestone — which Census demographers have predicted — will strengthen the country.

First Read: “Don’t forget the ways that Trump has said the quiet thing out loud here. He’s referred to immigration at the southern border as an ‘invasion’; he’s supported a ban on Muslims entering the United States during his campaign; and he’s reportedly used slurs to describe immigration from Haiti and some African countries.”

Kyle Kondik: “As an addendum to our Electoral College ratings release from a few weeks ago, we thought we’d track the presidential voting in each state relative to the nation over the last five elections to give readers a sense of where each state is trending. We split the 50 states into 10 different regional categories, loosely based on the regions and divisions of the U.S. Census Bureau.”

“Generally speaking, the Sun Belt and West are trending Democratic. The Midwest and North more broadly, along with Greater Appalachia, are trending Republican.”

Generation Z has a more positive view of the word “socialism” than previous generations, and — along with Millennials — are more likely to embrace socialistic policies and principles than past generations, according to a new Harris Poll.

“Gen Z and Millennials are projected to make up 37% of the electorate in 2020, and what they’re looking for in a presidential candidate is shifting.”

A new PRRI poll finds 21% of Americans say that they seldom or never interact with someone of a different race or ethnicity.

But that number is much different depending on demographic groups:

• White people with a college degree? 10%. Whites without a college degree? 26%
• Young people? 19%. Seniors? 30%.
• Democrats? 13%. Republicans? 21%.

First Read: “For all the talk about urban elites living in a bubble — and we get it — don’t forget about that other bubble of a not-insignificant share of Americans who rarely encounter someone different than themselves.”

A new PRRI poll finds that 45% of Democrats would be unhappy if their child married a Republican.

In contrast, 35% of Republicans would be unhappy if their child married a Democrat.

A new Gallup poll finds 35% of Americans name the government, poor leadership or politicians as the greatest problem facing the United States.

“This is the highest percentage Gallup has recorded for this concern, edging out the previous high of 33% during the 2013 federal government shutdown.”

A new CNN poll finds almost 7 in 10 say the federal government is doing a bad job of governing, including 43% who say it’s the worst job of governing in their lifetimes.

“That’s about double the share who said the same in early 1996 (21%) following a government shutdown that was the longest on record until last month. Just 19% say the federal government is doing a good job.”

A new Monmouth poll finds just 20% of the public feels that Americans are united and in agreement on our most important values while 77% say we are not.

Big majorities of Democrats (82%), Republicans (78%), and independents (72%) feel that the country is fundamentally divided.

Also interesting: “More than 6-in-10 Americans (62%) feel that the country has become more divided since Trump took office. Just 11% say the country has become more united and 25% say there has not really been a change in our sense of unity.”

“Over the past decade, attackers motivated by right-wing political ideologies have committed dozens of shootings, bombings and other acts of violence, far more than any other category of domestic extremist,” according to a Washington Post analysis of data on global terrorism.

“While the data show a decades-long drop-off in violence by left-wing groups, violence by white supremacists and other far-right attackers has been on the rise since Barack Obama’s presidency — and has surged since President Trump took office.”

A new CBS News poll finds just 15% of Americans say they are “looking forward” to talking politics at Thanksgiving this year.

The survey also found that 40% say they “hope to avoid” political discussion during the holiday while 45% don’t really care.

A new Axios/Survey Monkey poll finds 61% of Democrats see Republicans as “racist/bigoted/sexist.”

Meanwhil, 31% of Republicans say they view Democrats in the same light.

”If Americans are this convinced that the other side isn’t just wrong, but dumb and evil, they’ll never be able to find enough common ground to solve real problems. And they’re more likely to elect leaders who can’t do it, either.”