“Demography is destiny (infrequently given as demographics is destiny or demographics are destiny”) was coined by Ben Wattenberg and Richard M. Scammon in their book The Real Majority: An Extraordinary Examination of the American Electorate (1970). The authors wrote to paraphrase Heraclitus by saying, Demography is destinyHeraclitus (535 BC-475 BC) wrote character is destiny. In politics, demography is destiny means that the demographics of a population indicate which political party will carry a district.
The saying demography is destiny has been attributed to French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) since the 1980s. The word demography, however, was first cited in print in 1880. Comte (and many other writers) might have written something similar, but the authorship attribution is incorrect.
Remember when JEB was the destined-to-be nominee?
It’s a great phrase no matter what and so true today