Baby-Boomer Generation NOT Millennial Generation

November 8th-The day Republican Candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton have been campaigning for for over a year and a half…and the fight is almost OVER!

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Cast a Vote-It is Election Day in America! I hope every eligible voter has cast their vote, as it is one of our only chances as citizens to use our voice in our country’s great democracy. As this Election Day is coming to a close, it is still a tight election, as there are many unknown outcomes in swing states. Swing states, especially Florida, and its 29 Electoral College votes, are crucial to both candidate’s race to 270 Electoral College votes.

Not What Candidates Had in Mind-Millennials have been to blame for this crazy election. It has been a huge push for millennials to get out and vote, but because millennial voters cannot relate to either candidate…they have swung the election and voted for third party candidates instead. THIS was not what Trump and Hillary wanted after their long campaigning with millennial voters.

Millennials Vote for Third-Party Candidates-This article discusses how millennials are to blame for the incredibly close poll numbers in states like Florida. Instead of hoping for the millennial’s votes, the baby-boomer generation has become the new focus in many swing states, like Florida. Millennials result for the majority of the third party candidate’s votes, in fact according to the article they make up over twenty-six percent of Johnson’s votes and ten percent of Stein’s votes in Florida. The article continues to state that more than one in five political independents say they will vote for one of the third-party candidates and are opposition to either major party candidate.

Baby-Boomers are to Blame for Close Election-The article points to the importance, that though millennial generation makes up a great portion of voters in the United States, the baby –boomer generation is more to blame for the incredibly close election. Because millennials have not shown support to either major party candidate, the baby-boomers support for Trump has kept him in the close race. The article continues their description of the issue in this graph, “Looking at the graph below, I see only one generation so selfish and entitled that they’d disappoint their parents, children, and grandchildren—and it isn’t millennials.”

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Hillary Would Lead-If third party candidates were eliminated from the election, Hillary Clinton would clearly be in the lead. Due to millennials not voting for either Trump nor Clinton, and instead for third party candidates, voters have taken votes away from the leading majority candidates resulting in a sudden death election.

Baby-Boomers for Trump-The article states that “He (Trump) really begins to pull away from Clinton with voters 65 and over and maximizes his support with voters in their mid-seventies, only to collapse again into a deficit with 90-plus voters.” In this election, Trump has gotten the majority of his votes from the baby –boomer generation. So, the baby-boomers, not the millennial voters. So instead of blaming millennials, the baby-boomers are to blame for the incredibly, nail biting-close election.

Trump and Clinton Both Baby-Boomers-Both Trump and Clinton represent the epitome of the baby-boomer generation. Both are a part of the baby-boomer generation. It is the baby boomer generation, not the millennial generation, which has been ever so popular among the Republican Party, and that is exactly where Trump’s votes are pouring in from. Ever since the creation of the Republican Party, it has thrived with the (Caucasian) baby-boomer generation.

Retire in Florida-As for the close election call in states like Florida, baby boomer generations want to blame Trump and the millennials for the close polling numbers, but in fact, due to the apparent and supposed (apparently Florida is home to retirees!) high number of baby boomers in Florida, they have caused the closest election in years.

Candidate’s Routes to White House-Trump is running out of options…he needs Florida and other crucial swing states to get his 270 Electoral College votes. Hillary has many more routes to the 270 voters, but needs to continue getting support and votes from the entire nation. If everything continues on path, by tonight Hillary Clinton will make history as the first female President in the United States.

Her Biggest October Surprise Yet

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7 day countdown: With 7 days to go, both candidates are using their every effort to gain voters of all ages, races and genders. Most importantly, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are using their campaigns last push to gain the millennial voter to either be Stronger Together or join the Trump Train. With October surprises popping up regularly in the last two weeks of the campaign season, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are trying to make their best, and final, comebacks to prove their trustworthiness, fitness, and abilities to serve as the next President of the United States.

October surprise: A big October surprise was released this past weekend, which revealed that the FBI is reopening the investigation on Hillary Clinton and her email scandal. I figured, along with many other young voters, that the email scandal was at the end of its road and that it would not be an investigation that would ever be reopened. But, over the weekend, the FBI claimed they sound significant reasoning behind reopening the Hillary email scandal investigation. In her last week of campaigning, this investigation could make her or break her. It is now time for Hillary to come back from a huge scandal if she wants to win over the millennial voters.

Hillary is still winning: Rhetorically, Hillary is still winning in the polls. But, because of her latest email scandal the polls could quickly change. According to this article, the Democratic early vote has dipped in comparison to the Obama election years, while the Republican early vote has increased since the McCain and Romney elections.

Millennial support surged: But, just as we thought this October surprise ruined Hillary’s chances on winning the millennial vote, according to this article, Hillary’s millennial voting numbers have surged. Apparently, Hillary’s lead in the millennial polls is up by two points in comparison to Donald Trump’s millennial vote. According to this article Hillary has actually gained millennial votes this past month, and they are not from young women. The majority of Hillary’s millennial votes are from millennial-aged men. The article states that her millennial vote from men is actually 11 points higher than President Obama’s same demographic during the 2012 election.

WikiLeaks stance: On the other hand, this article explains exactly why the millennial vote will fail due to the email scandal and reopening of the email investigation. According to the article, Clinton has failed to garner a significant amount of millennial support…and the WikiLeaks files have not helped her gain more young voters.

Encouraged the Trump Train: According to this article , this October surprise may have altered young Hillary voters to become Trump voters. The article claims that the latest email scandal has encouraged the Trump campaign because young voters can, again, be faced with the question of “which candidate is trustworthy and honest?” Being viewed as trustworthy by American citizens, by far, has been Hillary’s biggest issue to overcome.

How to overcome her battle: Hillary will have to focus on making American trust her again. She must continue her stance that the FBI should release all of the information they have. She will continue fighting for millennials through her campaigning on climate control, abortion rights, and free education. But, as of right now, her biggest issue is to gain trust and show her honesty due to this latest October surprise.

Coming to a halt: Clearly, media outlets show different stories and not one can be trusted to show the real time results. With October (and hopefully October surprises) over, the two campaigns are coming to a halt. As a nation we are so close, yet so far. There is a lot of investigation and campaigning to be done between November 1st and November 8th. Our country will have to wait 7 more days to see which candidate gains the majority of the millennial vote and which candidate grasps the position of the President of the United States.

 

 

Facebook Could Swing The Election

Millennial Voters: According to this article, millennial voters match the Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the United States…but the biggest question of all is whether or not they will vote, and if they do vote, who will they vote for? It is estimated that there are 69.2 million millennials in the United States who are eligible to vote. One common denominator between most of these millennials is social media outlets like Facebook.

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Facebook’s Impact: Facebook has a huge impact on the current election. More than ever, voters of all ages, races and genders are turning to Facebook to get the latest election updates, debate results, and venting about their feelings on the two candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Millennial voters are typically the best at venting about their feelings on Facebook. According to this article , there has been a lot of consternation in recent months about Facebook’s impact on politics. Mostly, Facebook could have an impact on the election because of the hyper-targeted campaign ads, suppressed trending topics and partisan censorship. To say the least, Facebook’s biggest impact on the election is that it is actually motivating and driving millennial voters to the polls. According to THIS ARTICLE, the majority of these voters are likely to vote Democrat.

Facebook Raised Voting Numbers: As all millennials are aware, we spend the majority of our days scrolling through the endless NewsFeed of our multiple social media outlets. Whether its Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, the media has stamped our brains with political messages. It turns out, according to this article , that social media outlets like Facebook have actually raised the number of millennial voters in almost every state.

Facebook Demographics: According to this article , the demographics of Facebook show that Facebook users are young, people of color, and women…all characteristics of a Democratic vote. Facebook lately has been trending stories that would suggest favorability in Hillary Clinton. These millennial “Facebookers” are faced with trending anti-Trump political advertisements along with pro-Hillary campaign videos.

Facebook Venting: Facebook has also served its purpose as a free therapist for many young voters. As the images shown below suggest, millennial voters are not quiet about or afraid to show their political preferences:

Pro Hillary Clinton Posts:

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Pro Donald Trump Posts:

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How The Candidates Could Gain Millennial Votes: Both candidates are striving to gain the last minute millennial votes as their campaigns for President are coming to a close. With just 14 days left in their campaigns, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are aiming their campaigns in swing states and among millennial voters. Focusing on issues like the economy, jobs, education costs, climate change, and even pro-choice/pro-life opinions are topics that (according to Facebook) can get the millennials thinking. Hillary Clinton should continue to gain millennial female voters by discussing issues like Pro-Choice and continue gaining millennial voters by campaigning about the importance of climate change. Donald Trump could continue to gain both male and female millennial voters by campaigning about the importance of Pro-Life and how he will create more jobs, and cut taxes. Lastly, both candidates should continue their strong stance on how they will make education more affordable for students and families.

How Facebook Should React: Facebook should continue getting voters interested in the election, but it should focus more on promoting each candidate giving them fair positive and negative coverage. Facebook has shown multiple feeds of live campaign coverage and it should continue showing the live feeds of both Presidential candidates.

Facebook and Millennial Voters

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With the last Presidential Debate for the 2016 Election coming into play, millennial voters will be the focus of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and their campaigns. Through recent polls, millennials make up around 36% of the overall voters in this election, more than any other election in past years. Besides the white, middle-aged women voting in this election, the millennial vote comes in a close second in aspects of importance. With the election coming soon to a close, it is the question both candidates are pursuing to answer…Who will get the millennial vote?

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With scandals like the recent NBC release of Donald Trump talking about grabbing women by certain body parts and Hillary Clinton and the WikiLeaks, which candidate seems less critical in the eyes of the millennial. According to this article, the WikiLeaks emails are not as damaging for Hillary Clinton compared to the NBC video release. In comparison, this article  displays how Hillary Clinton and her WikiLeaks scandal are just covered up by her meticulous and methodical political self. The article states, “In other words, she’s a Clinton-a Democrat who believes in progressive goals, but who’s willing to trim them, postpone them, and even throw them under a bus when practical politics requires”. According to this article, Hillary Clinton is at risk of losing the campaign because millennial voters just simply do not like her or feel that she is honest. Many millennials feel that actions speak louder than words, and this election is the perfect example of that. For both the Republican and Democratic parties, vigorous political advertisements from both sides of the campaign are focusing on one another’s campaign flaws to entice the millennial voter.

Throughout both Trump and Clinton’s presidential campaigns, the candidates have chosen surrogates to speak more effectively to millennials and grasp their attention. Whether the surrogates spoke to millennials about climate change, taxes, a better economy, or student loans, surrogates have been much more effective and relatable for millennials rather than Trump or Clinton. According to this article, celebrity support also helps boost the millennial support and voting. In some instances, the candidates have chosen past Presidents, Vice Presidents, and even celebrities and athletes to reach the realm of the millennial mindset. For example, Hillary Clinton has chosen Al Gore to preach about Climate change, while celebrities like Katy Perry, Eva Longoria and George Clooney have all voiced their support of Hillary Clinton.

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On the other hand, Trump has had Paul Ryan campaign to young voters and has had many celebrities come out in support of Trump and his campaign. According to this article, Donald Trump also has quite the celebrity following to entice the millennial voters. These celebrities include Quarterback Tom Brady, Willie Robertson, Dennis Rodman, and Kid Rock.

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After filtering through my own Facebook page, I have found it very interesting, amusing, and sometimes frustrating, to find out who supports Hillary and who supports Trump. As a millennial voter myself, I often find myself unsure of who to side with or if I even want to vote. Scrolling through the Facebook “newsfeed” has helped shape and discourage me at different times from both candidates. Facebook has been a continuous political advertisement since the Democratic and GOP primaries last year. When searching both candidates on Facebook, Donald Trump’s Facebook page has received “likes” from 160 of my Facebook friends, compared to Hillary Clinton’s “likes” from only 60 of my Facebook friends. I believe this holds true to the fact that millennial voters stay firm in their belief that they do not like Hillary. The Facebook posts I have come across in favor of Hillary come from extremely liberal Facebook friends across the United States.

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Both candidates must focus on the last debate of this election and attribute much of their attention to the millennial viewers. Through campaign advertisements, millennials see much of each candidates abilities (and inabilities) to serve as the next President of The United States of America. Both candidates must express their sides on taxes, fixing the economy, creating jobs, and student loans. The candidates also should plan to discuss issues that could relate to millennial female voters such as programs like Planned Parenthood, abortion rights and maternity leave. Concepts like this could change the stance of many female millennial voters and sway them one way or another. Only time (and the next debate) will tell who is able to get one step close to attaining the millennial vote and becoming the next President.

Millennials Are With Her

Hillary Clinton is ahead in the polls and with the release of Trump’s degrading language toward women, should be leading this 2016 Election. The second Presidential Debate on Sunday evening was a battle between who is more fit to be in office, which candidate is able to act the most presidential, and who’s past words and actions have been most inglorious to the candidate’s struggling campaigns. Both challengers’ campaigns have been at highs and lows. Highs would include Hillary’s ability to reach out to lower class voters and achieve a relatable character. Trump’s highs would include his strength and abilities to fix the nation’s undervalued economy. Lows for Hillary would include her terrible use of metaphors like “basket of deplorables” and Trump’s use of metaphor calling Hillary a “bigot”.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been caught in threatening circumstances which have made their campaigns unpredictable and difficult for voters of all’s ages, genders, and ethnicities to defend and support. From a rhetorical standpoint, knowing that Hillary Clinton is ahead in the polls and has an easy upper hand, due to this weekend’s Trump scandal, she should have been able to have a victory over Trump during this debate. Trump defeated Hillary and was able to control his past and blame the Clinton’s for their past actions. He continued to preach to the audience in the crowd and the audience watching through the screen that “actions speak louder than words” and if somebody with his power was the president then Hillary would be in jail for her 33,000 deleted emails when she was secretary of state.

Both candidates need to settle down and achieve one last final goal. To receive the millennial vote come Election Day in November. Polls show that millennial voters, alongside white middle-aged women, will be the determining factor in the outcome of this election. Millennials make up around 69.2 million votes, and have the great ability to sway the deciding result. This article emphasizes the importance of the millennial voters and touches on the point that they are key assets to winning this election.

This poll shows that millennial voters between the ages of 18 and 34 tend to agree and side with Clinton 56% of the time and Trump only 20%. According to this fortune article, Hillary Clinton is “tapping former Vice President Al Gore to help her win over millennials in the final weeks before November 8th” (fortune.com). Clinton and her campaign have recognized the importance of climate issues and how millennial voters value the conditions of the globe and the treats of climate change the Earth is currently under.

This article shows that millennials would “flock to Clinton against Trump”. The picture also suggests that many female millennials are stating and showing that “I’m With Her”. On the other hand, this photo shows male millennials siding with Trump.

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An article, written by USA Today, discusses how millennial voters are turned off by the two major party candidates and are choosing to instead vote for the third party candidates. According to USA Today, “A lot of people are trending away from the main parties and looking at the third party” (USA Today). The article continues to explain how many millennials feel strongly about gun rights, but feel that health care is a valuable asset to attain. Most millennial voters who feel this way are unsure of who will get their vote.

In conclusion, Hillary must continue on her route of gaining the millennial votes if she wants to win this election. She should continue to have surrogate speakers, like Al Gore, campaign for her when she is unable to campaign. Hillary must continue to state that Trump is unfit for office and that his words devalue women and the woman’s ability. She should also continue to bring up Trump’s taxes and his inability to show his tax records. Her campaign should press on the issues of the climate and suggest ways to fix the drastic current climate change. Clinton should continue to grant the wishes of health care, and continue to give health care to all citizens. Lastly, she should continue her streak of being relatable to all genders, ages, and races/ethnicities. She must continue to be strong and defeat Trump and not take his bait during debates. She must take a stance for women and all that she has to offer to play the role of The President of The United States of America.

Hillary Needs Millennial Voters

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Capturing the voters: Capturing the votes of the millennial has become a focus of both Presidential Candidates in the 2016 Election. Hillary Clinton has finely focused on and made it her central role to capture young voters. It has been proven through past elections that young voters are a great majority of our country’s voters. Young voters helped Barack Obama, as he received 60% of young voter’s votes in 2012, resulting in over 20% of his overall votes. Clinton is in believe that the millennial voters make up for over 25% of the voting demographics in this election. Capturing their vote is ideal. But, she has one issue. The millennial are refusing to vote for her.

Who do the Millennial voters support? As a challenger facing Donald Trump neither candidate has the upper hand and they are both fighting for the same moderate, undecided voters like the millennial vote, Clinton nor Trump have captured the millennial voter’s attention for the right reasons. Neither candidate is viewed as trustworthy, honest or relatable. Young voters feel they do not connect with either candidate, leaving them unsure of which candidate to vote for in the Election. According to CNN, “while walking through the campus of East Carolina University, students were interviewed and only one student stated she was voting for Hillary” (CNN.com). Her last hope to gain these votes is to grasp on Bernie Sanders’s values and beliefs, as Bernie had captured almost all of millennial voters before he suspended his campaign.

She needs Bernie’s supporters: This image portrays young voters who were in support of Bernie. These same voters across the nation are now undecided, moderate voters who have one of the most difficult elections to vote in as their first election. Will the vote for Hillary or Trump? Only time will tell, but I believe they will vote against Clinton as millennial voters show little like for the candidate and tend to disagree with her beliefs. Many males and females also feel distant from Clinton, as she cares too much about gender issues rather than the more prominent issues in our country. Clinton has displayed many disappointing characteristics, including lying, which has guided young voters away from her. Along with lying, her deleted emails have also causes voters to dislike her and feel that she is untrustworthy.

Only time (and the Election) will tell: As each week, debate, and time passes the candidates are giving it their last push and all to capture the attention of the young voters. As for the results of the millennial voters, only the 2016 Presidential Election will tell.

 

Elizabeth Bowers