Americans Don’t Favor Politics as a Career For Their Kids

A new Gallup poll, just released, finds that 64% of American’s don’t want their kids to go into politics as a career.

There are two interesting patterns reported in the Gallup data. The first is a sizable order effect:

When Gallup asks about a daughter going into politics first, 37% say they would like to see their daughter go into politics. But 37% also say they would like to see their son go into politics when asked about it after being asked about a daughter going into politics.

In contrast, when Gallup asks about a son going into politics first, the percentage wanting to see their son go into politics is 12 percentage points lower, at 25%. And the percentage wanting their daughter to go into politics is lower, at 26%, when asked after the question about a son going into politics.

Also, the Gallup report notes that there hasn’t been a lot of change over time in these opinions — American parents today seem just as negative regarding a political career for their kids as parents were in past generations.