Millennials Demographic Trends: Democratic Party Preferred Among Millennials Ahead of 2016 Presidential Election
Harvard University Institute of Politics found millennials prefer the Democratic Party to win the 2016 presidential election in convincing fashion.
Millennials, as Americans born between 1980 and mid-2000s and representing one-third of the total U.S. population, represent the largest generation in America. The Harvard poll surveyed 18-to-29-year olds, and 55 percent said the Democratic Party is their preferred major political party to win the White House compared to 40 percent for Republicans.
The preference for the Democratic Party among millennials is not a breaking view. Based on exit poll results gathered by the New York Times, millennials have consistently voted for Democrats.
For the 2004 presidential election, Democratic candidate John Kerry received 54 percent of the vote, ahead of 45 percent for President George W. Bush. in 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama saw Democratic support increase to 66 percent while Republican support for John McCain slipped to 32 percent. The 2012 presidential election saw Obama maintain most of his Democratic support with 60 percent, while Republican Mitt Romney attracted 37 percent.
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Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, support for the Democratic Party is still ahead of the Republican Party, but the percentage rate for both major political parties saw changes.
U.S. Latino millennials overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party to win the 2016 presidential election with 68 percent compared to 27 percent for the Republican Party. Black millennials provided more support for Democrats than Republicans, with 87 percent and 8 percent, respectively. White millennials saw ended the continuing support for Democrats. Fifty-three percent of whites prefer the Republican Party candidate to win the 2016 presidential election than 41 percent for the Democratic campaign.
Women appear to lean more for the Democratic candidate, with 59 percent, than the Republican candidate, with 36 percent. While the preference among women saw the Democratic Party ahead by 23 percentage points, the preference among men showed a narrow percentage spread. Fifty percent of millennial men preferred the Democratic presidential candidate, but support for Republicans was close behind with 44 percent.
Within the Democratic Party, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attracted most of the millennial support with 47 percent. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has repeatedly denied intentions to run for the White House, was the only other Democratic option to receive double-digit support with 11 percent. Vice President Joe Biden received 8 percent to round up the top three.
According to the Harvard Institute of Politics, the Republican Party presidential field saw no immediate front-runner. Of 16 GOP names, neurologist Ben Carson received most of the support from millennial Republicans with 10 percent. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky accounted for 8 percent, while former Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas tied at 7 percent. Current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tied at 5 percent with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and current Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Other Republican names such as Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina received 2 percent, an improvement compared to Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who received 0 percent.
The Harvard University Institute of Politics poll was conducted between March 8 and April 1.
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