Democrats have lost the support of millennial voters by a nearly 10 percent margin as midterm elections loom, a Reuters/Ipsos national opinion poll said.
The poll — an online survey of over 16,000 registered voters spanning the ages of 18 to 34 — found that participants' support for Democrats over Republicans in congressional races dipped to 46 percent overall, Reuters said. That's a loss of about 9 percentage points over the last two years, the outlet added.
In addition, those polled are increasingly saying the GOP is better with the economy, Reuters reported.
About two-thirds of those polled indicated they don't like Republican President Donald Trump, the outlet said.
But that doesn't mean they feel the same way about all Republicans — and that also doesn't mean Democratic congressional candidates will get their votes, Reuters noted.
The outlet said such a caveat "presents a potential problem for Democrats" who need to gain 23 seats in order to nab control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, the outlet said, adding that the Democrats have "come to count on millennials as a core constituency."
Donald Green, a political science professor at Columbia University in New York City, told Reuters that — believe it or not — young voters aren't "as wedded to one party."
“They’re easier to convince than, say, your 50- or 60-year-olds who don’t really change their minds very often," he added to the outlet.
Terry Hood, 34, is black, works at a Dollar General store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, Reuters reported.
However, Hood told the outlet he'll consider a Republican for Congress because he said the GOP is making it easier to find jobs — and he also likes the recent Republican tax cut.
“It sounds strange to me to say this about the Republicans, but they’re helping with even the small things,” Hood told Reuters in a phone interview. “They’re taking less taxes out of my paycheck. I notice that.”
The poll — which surveyed young voters in the first three months of 2018 and the first three months of 2016 — noted that only 28 percent of participants overtly supported Republicans in both time periods, the outlet reported.
However, the survey showed that doesn't translate to the remaining respondents going Democratic, Reuters noted.
The key? A growing percentage of voters who said they were undecided, would support a third-party candidate or not vote at all, the outlet said.
You can read the full Reuters analysis here.
(H/T: Washington Times)
