Democrats make up 86% of commencement speakers at top colleges in 2026
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Democrats outnumbered Republicans among commencement speakers at top U.S. colleges this year by more than 6 to 1, according to a new report examining commencement ceremonies at elite universities across the country.
College Fix found that Democratic or Democratic-leaning speakers made up 86% of partisan graduation speakers at schools ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s top 100 universities.
“The Fix reviewed press releases and donation records to determine the political leanings of the speakers.” College Fix reported Friday. “The figures only include speakers at the main graduation ceremony or undergraduate ceremonies if there is more than one event. Other speakers did not publicly indicate a political affiliation and were counted as not applicable in the analysis.”
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A report by The College Fix found that at top U.S. colleges, Democratic commencement speakers outnumbered Republican speakers by a 6-to-1 margin. (Getty Images)
Among the six Republican or right-leaning commencement speakers The College Fix identified are Arthur Brooks, former president of the American Enterprise Institute, who delivered Vanderbilt University’s commencement address on May 7; Dario Gil, the Department of Energy undersecretary for science under President Donald Trump, delivered the commencement address at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on May 16; and former University of Texas quarterback and NFL player Colt McCoy delivered the commencement address for the University of Texas at Austin on May 9.
Francis Fukuyama, described by The College Fix as a conservative speaker despite reportedly supporting former President Barack Obama for president in 2008, was the commencement speaker at the University of William & Mary’s May 15 commencement ceremony. Eric Dickerson, a former Southern Methodist University returnee, was SMU’s commencement speaker May 16, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will deliver Yeshiva University’s commencement address May 28.
Democratic commencement speakers identified by The College Fix this year include Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who will deliver the commencement speech of the New Jersey Institute of Technology; Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressing Michigan State University; and Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, who delivered Virginia Tech’s commencement address.
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Virginia Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger speaks during an event. (Getty Images)
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., delivered Georgia Tech’s commencement address.
Other speakers at this year’s Democratic commencement include former President Bill Clinton’s White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers of Santa Clara University; Alison LaCroix, former President Joe Biden’s appointment to the President’s Commission on the University of Illinois-Chicago Supreme Court; and Alison Nathan, U.S. district judge for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was nominated by Joe Biden in 2021 and identified as the second openly LGBTQ+ woman to serve on a federal district court at the University of California Irvine.
Democratic speakers from the entertainment industry include actress Kristin Davis of the University of Colorado Boulder, Sarah Jessica Parker of Northwestern University, Jane Lynch of Cornell University and singer and rapper William Adams, known as “will.i.am,” who delivered the commencement speech at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Democratic writers identified by The Fix as giving commencement speeches include James Patterson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; John Green of Rice University; Xochitl Gonzalez of Brown University; and Min Jin Lee of Yale University.
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Sarah Jessica Parker gave the commencement speech at Northwestern University. (Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
Conservative speakers routinely faced hostility on campuses. Chloe Cole announced that she canceled her speech planned to be held at the University of Washington last week, citing allegations of threats. antifa.
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In April, Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Akşamte told Fox News Digital that South Carolina State University had rescinded its invitation to give the commencement speech because she supported President Trump.
