FEATURED
ANALYSIS
Winners of a prestigious, taxpayer-funded college scholarship selected from Republican-heavy states most often go on to work for progressive causes or Democratic politicians, with few taking jobs that advance pro-GOP or conservative causes, research from The College Fix finds.
Each year, the federally funded Harry S. Truman Scholarship provides a $30,000 grant for grad school to about 50 students with proven leadership potential and a commitment to public service. In return, they pledge to work in a public service role for three years after graduation.
The College Fix analysis shows the left-leaning imbalance in winners cannot be chalked up to a few individual career choices – the data paints a portrait of systemic ideological filtering within a program funded by all taxpayers but whose outcomes serve the political vision of Democrats.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation seeks regional diversity in its selections, and tries to award its scholarships to students from every state.
The College Fix looked at Truman Scholar winners from Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Utah. These states tend to elect Republican politicians or are considered GOP strongholds. Michigan remains a swing state, voting Republican in two of the last three presidential elections.
Of the states’ 125 Truman scholars from 2015 to 2024, 60 winners – or nearly half of those surveyed at 48 percent – went on to have at least one job working for left-wing, progressive or Democratic causes. In contrast, only three winners, 2.4 percent, could be found to have gone on to work for a conservative or Republican cause.
The remaining could not be found online, or a determination could not be made based on the available information, or they have engaged in nonpartisan experiences after their scholarship.
To determine the findings, The Fix reviewed the scholars’ online footprints, primarily LinkedIn, as well as their job histories, profiles on company websites, and personal online bios.
The results illustrate a stark mismatch between the political identity of these 11 states and the ideological direction of the leaders the program cultivates from them.
For scholars from these Republican-leaning states, the path of “public service” overwhelmingly leads to jobs on the opposite side of the political aisle. Examples include:
• Working for the Biden-Harris campaign or administration
• Joining organizations like the ACLU, the Center for American Progress, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations
• Supporting pro-abortion and feminist causes, including the ultra-feminist Women’s March
• Working for Democratic politicians such as Sen. Raphael Warnock
• Founding a tech company with the stated mission “to directly support progressive campaigns and organizations”
Democratic job machine
The regional findings underscore and mirror a larger, systemic bias uncovered within the nationwide Truman selection process.
Of the 653 winners reviewed from 2015 to 2025, only 29 conservatives have been identified compared to 397 liberals. The results show the scholarships are overwhelmingly awarded to left-wing individuals active in progressive and Democratic efforts, whether viewed from a regional lens or a national one.
In effect, a taxpayer-funded program designed to represent the entire nation produces leaders from a narrow segment of the political spectrum, with most GOP-controlled states producing winners that do not represent the majority of its constituents’ voting habits.
Put simply: the Truman scholarships spawn 35 Democratic jobs for every 1 Republican job.
Regional representation – a closer look
GEORGIA
Total investigated: 12
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 8
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 1
Total N/A: 3
Georgia is considered a swing state, but leans Republican. The Peach State only voted Democrat in the Electoral College in 2020, and before that, went Republican every time since 1996. Nearly 51 percent of Georgians voted for Donald Trump in the last election.
But in Georgia, of the 12 Truman winners awarded from 2015 to 2024, eight went on to work in some capacity that advances a left-wing cause. Only one could be found to have worked for a conservative cause. Three could not be ascertained based on their online footprint.
Truman Scholars from Georgia have gone on to work for the Biden for President campaign, the Vanderbilt Program for LGBTQ Health, the Michigan Immigrants Rights Center, a Democrat judge, and Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
FLORIDA
Total investigated: 12
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 8
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 4
Eight of the 12 scholars from Florida from 2015 through 2024 worked for left-wing causes after winning the scholarship. In effect, two-thirds of Florida’s winners from the past decade worked to advance progressive causes despite the fact that Trump won more than 56 percent of the popular vote there in 2024. Florida also went Republican in the Electoral College in each of the three presidential elections in the same timeframe analyzed for this report.
Many of the Truman scholars from Florida are deeply enmeshed in left-wing politics, working for the Harris campaign, the ACLU, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, pro-abortion organizations, and even one who founded a data and tech company whose stated mission is “to directly support progressive campaigns and organizations.”
None of the Florida Truman winners, however, worked to advance conservative causes. The other four winners either could not be located, or their work after winning the scholarship does not appear political based on their online footprint.
KENTUCKY
Total investigated: 12
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 9
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 3
Like Georgia and Florida, nine of Kentucky’s 12 Truman scholars from 2015 to 2024 have worked for progressive causes after their selection.
Again, this is highly disproportionate: in the 2024 presidential election, Harris won barely a third of the popular vote. Trump carried almost 65 percent of the state, yet not a single one of these Truman scholars were found to have worked for a conservative cause after winning. The remaining three winners appear to have worked apolitical jobs since receiving the scholarship.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Truman winners focused their subsequent academic work at the ACLU, worked for a Democrat congresswoman, advanced pro-abortion causes, and served on Democrats’ political campaigns.
MICHIGAN
Total investigated: 12
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 7
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 5
In recent years, Michigan has been a swing state, voting Republican in the 2016 presidential election, then Democrat in 2020, and back to Republican in 2024.
Of the 12 Truman scholarship winners from Michigan from 2015 through 2024, seven – almost 60 percent – have gone on to advance left-wing causes. Among the remaining five, zero worked to advance a conservative cause according to their online footprints. Their experiences after winning either could not be found or were neutral – even though two of them worked for Democrat causes prior to winning.
Truman scholars from Michigan went on to work for Democratic House representatives and senators, Amnesty International USA, Bloomberg and CNN, and progressive strategy firms.
LOUISIANA
Total investigated: 10
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 6
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 1
Total N/A: 3
Ten Louisianians were awarded the Truman scholarship from 2015 to 2024, and six of them worked to advance left-wing causes after winning.
Louisiana has not voted Democrat in the Electoral College since 1996, yet most of its Truman scholars went on to work for the political campaigns of Democrats across the country, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Democrat members of Congress.
The remaining three appeared to have fairly neutral, bipartisan, or independent-minded work experiences after receiving the scholarship.
The one Louisiana Truman scholar who is conservative is a former Marine who served as an economist in Trump’s first term.
MISSOURI
Total investigated: 13
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 5
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 8
Missouri has not voted Democrat in the presidential election since 1996. Yet The Fix could not find a single one of the 13 Truman scholarship winners from Missouri from 2015 through 2024 who went on to work for conservative or right-leaning causes.
Five, however, have worked to advance progressive causes, including working for elected Democrats at both the state and federal levels, Democrat political campaigns, and other progressive organizations. The remaining eight winners either could not be located or have worked in fairly neutral roles since receiving the scholarship.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Total investigated: 10
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 5
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 5
South Carolina is a solidly red state and has not voted Democrat in the Electoral College in almost 50 years. Yet of the 10 individuals from South Carolina who won the Truman scholarship between 2015 to 2024, none were determined to have worked for a conservative cause or organization.
Five, however, worked for left-wing causes, including the ACLU, Center for American Progress, pro-abortion and feminist causes, and the Biden and Harris campaigns. The other five appear to have remained academically-focused in generally non-political areas post-grad school.
INDIANA
Total investigated: 10
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 5
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 5
For the past four presidential elections (2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024), Indiana has voted Republican in the Electoral College. Trump attained almost 60 percent of the popular vote in Indiana in 2024.
Yet left-wing Truman winners from Indiana went on to intern or work for The World Bank, a climate change initiative with the United Nations, Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, the Biden-Harris White House, and one even contributed a chapter to a book called “Dismantling Institutional Whiteness.”
From 2015 through 2024, ten individuals from Indiana were awarded the Truman Scholarship. Of these, five went on to advance left-wing causes. The other five either were not located or have held neutral roles since receiving the scholarship. None could be found to have gone on to work for conservative initiatives.
UTAH
Total investigated: 11
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 4
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 1
Total N/A: 6
Historically, Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation. It has voted Republican in the Electoral College every election since 1968. Trump garnered almost 60 percent of the popular vote in Utah in the 2024 election.
Yet, among the 11 Truman scholars chosen from Utah between 2015 and 2024, just one winner was found to have gone on to work for a Republican official. Six either could not be found or have worked in non-partisan or bipartisan roles since winning.
Four of the winners from Utah, however, went to work for Democrat Senators, the Biden-Harris administration, a Democrat Attorney General, and a gun control organization.
OHIO
Total investigated: 12
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 3
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 9
Ohio voted Republican in the past three presidential elections (2016, 2020, and 2024). More than 55 percent of the popular vote went to Trump in 2024. Yet from Ohio, The Fix could not find one Truman Scholarship winner from 2015 to 2024 that went on to work for a politically right cause.
Nine appear to have had mostly neutral experiences since being awarded the scholarship; three proceeded to work for progressive causes. These individuals promoted the ultra-feminist Women’s March and gun control organizations and worked for Democrat politicians, NPR, and the United Nations.
NORTH CAROLINA
Total investigated: 11
Total Democrat/Progressive affiliations: 2
Total Republican/conservative affiliations: 0
Total N/A: 9
In the past 50 years, North Carolina only voted Democrat in the Electoral College for Jimmy Carter (1976) and Barack Obama (2008). In every other presidential election, North Carolina went red. More than half of the popular vote went to Trump in 2024.
But none of the Truman scholarship winners from North Carolina from 2015 to 2024 could be determined to have worked for a conservative initiative or Republican politician after their selection. In contrast, two were found to advance left-wing causes, working for the Center for Progress and interning in the Biden White House. The remaining nine appear to have held mostly apolitical roles since receiving the scholarship.
Editor’s note: To determine whether the findings are representative of each state, The College Fix used the 2024 presidential election outcome, as well as the states’ Electoral College histories, to develop an analysis of whether the Truman Scholarship recipients are proportionally representing each state’s constituents. The Fix opted against using voter registration data as the metric, as not all of the states require party affiliation for registration.
College Fix editor Jennifer Kabbany contributed to this report.
MORE: Taxpayer-funded Truman scholarships spawn 35 Democratic jobs for every 1 Republican job
