Senior citizens realigning with the GOP?

Senior citizens in the United States have realigned themselves with the Republican Party over the last 20 years, according to a new survey.

A Gallup poll released Wednesday indicates seniors — people 65 and older — have become less Democratic and more Republican, especially since 2010.

In 2013, 48 percent of seniors identified as or leaned Republican, compared to 45 percent who identified as or leaned Democratic. 

More than half of seniors in 1992 identified as Democrats, or said they were independents and leaned Democratic.

{mosads}By contrast, people who are younger than seniors, ages 18 to 64, have become more Democratic since 1992. That year, they had a 1-percentage-point advantage over Republicans. Last year, they had an 8-point advantage.

Seniors today were ages 45 to 79 in the early 1990s, Gallup notes. That group 20 years ago was actually highly Democratic, with a 12-point Democratic advantage. 

One reason why seniors have become more Republican is 85 percent of them are non-Hispanic whites, the poll found. 

A separate Gallup poll from Monday suggested whites have become more solidly Republican.

A majority of whites over the age of 29 identified as Republican or leaned Republican in Gallup polls last year. Only the 18 to 29 age demographic was slightly more Democratic, among whites.