Younger voters set to boost GOP prospects in November elections

A poll conducted by Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) has revealed that young Republicans are set to turn out in greater numbers than young Democrats and young Independents when elections to the U.S. House and Senate are held in November.

The poll, of which full details are available at the IOP's own website or of which a summary can be seen at HPCwire, indicates that come November 41 percent of voters aged 18-29 who identify themselves as Republicans are intending to vote. That figure compares to 35 percent of those calling themselves Democrats stating that they will "definitely be voting in November" and 13 percent of Independents making the same statement. Furthermore, of those that indicated they supported Republican candidate John McCain in the 2008 race for the White House, 53 percent intend voting in November, while only 44 percent of those who voted for President Barack Obama in that race are committed at this stage to voting in November. Disapproval of the performance of the current President was likelier to encourage people to vote, with 35 percent of those falling in that category set to turn out later this year. Yet only 30 percent of the young people questioned who said they approved of the President's performance were likely to take part in November's elections. The ability of Barack Obama to secure the support of younger voters was key to his success in the election held in November 2008 and an analysis of voting patterns at the time, on the AccurateShooter website - a site for gun rights advocates - noted that among voters in the election aged 30 and under just 30 percent backed John McCain. More than double that number, 68 percent, voted for Barack Obama. The IOP, based at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found considerable concerns among the 3,117 young citizens of the U.S. it questioned in January and February regarding their prospects of "keeping their heads above water", fulfilling the "American Dream" and being able to stay in school. And by 51 percent to 45 they said that a slower economy was a price worth paying if it enabled the budget deficit to be kept down. However, despite disquiet with Congress as a whole, and the Democrats in it, there was some good news for President Obama. For, while a majority of participants in the poll disapproved of his handling of issues such as health care, Iran and the economy he still enjoyed the support of a majority of respondents for his overall job performance, albeit a reduced majority. His approval rating had been 58 percent in November but more recently it stood at 56 percent. In the press release that can be read at HPCwire IOP Director of Polling, John Della Volpe, observed:

Millions of young people are losing faith in government, politics and in many cases – the American dream. Millennials are calling on government to follow through on the bright promise that a generation dedicated to public service has come to passionately believe in

IOP Director Bill Purcell, a former Democratic Mayor of Nashville, commented:

Today we know this new generation of emerging leaders is less sure where we and they are headed. The question now is whether they will continue to grow their engagement in politics and public life in the years ahead – we may find out this fall

According to The Hill Purcell told reporters on Tuesday that "young Republicans are showing more enthusiasm than young Democrats for participating" in the elections in eight months time. In addition John Della Volpe is quoted as saying that at a similar stage in 2008 young Democrats and young Republicans had displayed the same level of enthusiasm for an election that was still several months away.