2016 Presidential Race: Bernie Sanders Overwhelmingly Favored by Millennials in Iowa
In the swing state of Iowa, the first to hold primary elections in the form of caucuses, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., appears to be the favorite among the largest U.S. age demographic to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Millennials, identified as Americans born between 1980 and mid-2000s, who represent one-third of the total U.S. population, overwhelmingly favored Sanders in polling data by CBS News and YouGov.
In the YouGov and CBS News survey, millennials, found in the 18-to-29-year-old age group, were most likely to vote for Sanders at 76 percent. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton significantly trailed the Vermont senator by 55 percentage points. Clinton received 21 percent of the millennials' vote. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley was the only other Democratic candidate to receive support at 3 percent.
The poll was conducted when Jim Webb, Lincoln Chafee and Vice President Joe Biden were still considered likely contenders for the Democrat's nomination, but the three men received 0 percent.
When CBS News and YouGov polled millennials in a hypothetical Democratic presidential caucus questionnaire without Biden as an option, Sanders and Clinton received the same percentages.
Within the GOP field, Republican millennials showed that their caucus could end with a narrow result. Donald Trump received 26 percent, ahead of 22 percent for Ben Carson and 20 percent for Ted Cruz. All other Republican candidates received single-digit figures or 0 percent.
Although Marco Rubio received 6 percent support from Republican millennials, 62 percent said they would be "satisfied" if he wins the Republican nomination, while 23 percent would not be satisfied.
Among the four age groups identified in the poll, millennials were the most likely to vote in the 2016 Iowa presidential caucus with 84 percent stating they "definitely" or "probably will" vote. The 65-and-older age group showed the second-highest engagement rate with 77 percent, higher than the 30-to-44 and 45-to-64 age groups.
Regardless of political party affiliation, more millennials, at 62 percent, agreed they are "enthusiastic" about their first-choice candidate than the other age groups.
The median age of an Iowan Latino falls within the millennial age group at 23.1 years old, significantly younger than the average Iowan age of 38.1 years old.
The Latino population in Iowa, regardless of age, is significantly smaller than the national average, with 5.6 percent as opposed to 17.4 percent, but their numbers in the Hawkeye State are still significant when breaking down key data. According to Iowa's state data center, Latinos are the largest race or ethnic minority population in the state -- with an estimated 173,594 as of July 2014, which is 110.5 percent higher than the population was in 2000 at 91,121.
Iowa's Latino population is projected to increase to 13 percent of the state's total population, or 450,231, by July 1, 2050. Based on 2014 statistics, most Iowan Latinos are Mexican at 78.1 percent, followed by Guatemalan, Puerto Rican and Salvadoran in single-digit figures.
The YouGov and CBS News poll was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.
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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
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