Poll: 18-30-Year-Olds to Play Major Role in 2008 Elections

Today, Rock the Vote, WWE®’s Smackdown Your Vote!®, and Sacred Heart University released a new nationwide poll of 18-30-year-olds that indicates young voters are likely to play a major role in the 2008 elections, going to the polls motivated by concerns over the war in Iraq, health care, the economy, and the cost of education.

The poll found that Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are currently the top primary choices among 18-30-year-old Democrats and Republicans.

From the news release:

“Young voters are a potential powerhouse in the 2008 elections,” said Kat Barr, research director with Rock the Vote. “This poll is yet another indicator that candidates who want to win in 2008 must court this large and increasingly active group of voters.” After declining nearly continuously for three decades, 18-29-year-olds’ voter turnout has increased in the past two major elections. In 2004, 4.3 million more voters under 30 cast ballots than had in 2000 – the total 18-29-year-old vote, 20.1 million, rivaled in size the much sought-after over-65 vote (23 million). Youth turnout also increased in 2006, by 1.9 million over 2002 levels.

Key findings:

Increasingly Engaged and Positive
• More than three-quarters (77%) indicated they are paying a “great deal” of attention to the November 2008 presidential election, much higher rates than found in similar polling from this time in 2003.
• A large majority (87%) report they plan to vote in November 2008, and 85% believe that their vote counts, up from 75% one year ago. (SHU 9/06 poll)

Top Issues
• Top issues are the war in Iraq (28%), health care (22%), the economy (14%), and education (13%).
• When asked whether they agreed with certain statements, 82% reported they are concerned with college affordability, 68% said global warming is a real and growing threat, and 65% said the U.S. government should provide universal health care to all.
• On Iraq, 49% of 18-30-year-olds said the U.S. should withdraw immediately. When asked about the surge, 49% said that it appears to be helping the situation.

Vote Choice
• Among young Democrats, Hillary Clinton was the top choice to win the Democratic primary (54%), followed by Barack Obama (24%), and John Edwards (8.4%).
• Among young Republicans, Rudy Giuliani received the most primary support (32%), followed by Fred Thompson (20%), Mitt Romney (16%), and John McCain (13%).
• For the November 2008 general election, 56% of 18-30-year-olds chose a Democrat as their preferred candidate, while 39% selected Republican candidates.

For the news release and full poll results, see Rock the Vote’s website or visit Sacred Heart University.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 6:22 pm and is filed under 2008 election, polls, young voters, youth vote. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.