A huge majority of millennials want a viable third-party option

Millennials are not happy with the job either party is doing in Washington, D.C. — and a new poll suggests that an overwhelming majority of them favor the creation of a new, third party so that they will have another choice.

What did the poll say?

 The poll, which was conducted by NBC News, showed that 71 percent of millennials feel that a “major third party” is needed in America. Support for a third party was strong across all racial groups — including 64 percent of Latino millennials, and 69 percent of Asian and African-American millennials.

Millennials expressed strong disapproval of virtually every institution in government. By a 63-22 margin, millennials disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president. Six in 10 millennials surveyed also expressed disapproval of the job Congress is doing. And 59 percent of millennials disapprove of the Republican Party, compared to 42 percent who disapprove of the Democratic Party.

What does this mean for the future of politics?

It’s difficult to see the actual creation of a viable third party, in spite of strong support for the principle among younger voters. After all, among the 71 percent of millennials who support a third party, there are probably a number of different ideological reasons for doing so.

It’s not clear if a third party could emerge that would appeal to disaffected millennials any more than the two existing parties already do.

Among survey participants, non-affiliated voters and Democratic-leaners were more likely to support a third party than Republican-leaners, which seems to suggest that dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party among ideological liberals might be the biggest driver of the poll’s results.

(H/T: Reason)