Potential Impact of Millennial Voters:
How important is it to resonate with this election’s bracket of millennial voters? According to PewResearchCenter, “ As of July, an estimated 126 million Millennial and Gen X adults were eligible to vote (56% of eligible voters), compared with only 98 million Boomers and other adults from prior generations, or 44% of the voting-eligible population.” With younger voters comprising a majority of the potential voting population, it would seem of paramount interest to both candidates in question.
Are Clinton’s Issues resonating with Millennials?
After the “Feel the Bern” campaign sputtered and finally (though resentfully) endorsed Mrs. Clinton, many believed free college education would continue to be a major plank that the Presidential hopeful could preach upon. However, myriads of young voters are beginning to grasp the financial burden that comes with no tuition. In the words of George Washington student Chioma Iheoma “…we know it’s not really sustainable. We’re going to have to pay taxes. We don’t want to pay for that.” According to Breana Ross, president of the United States Student Association, more pertinent issues include:
- Comprehensive immigration reform
- Climate justice
- Police accountability and “demilitarization” of campus police
With Election Day looming, Hillary would be wise to reign in on issues that evoke a stronger emotional trigger for young voters.
Clinton’s Fluctuating Numbers: A Cause for Concern?
Hillary’s failure to grasp and hold onto millennial voters manifests itself in numerous polls:
Even though Trump has seen very little jump in undecided young voters, Third Party candidates are beginning to make headway; most noticeably a thirteen point surge from Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. While neither candidate is a serious contender for the Oval Office, rising support late in election season shows a wave of discontent for both Presidential hopefuls.
Brief Ending Thoughts/Conclusions
I do not believe that a lower turnout of young voters for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be detrimental to her campaign, as long as they are not usurped by Donald Trump. As alluded to in class, middle age and undecided white women seem to be a predominant factor in this year’s election. Nevertheless, a drop of youth support for both candidates depicts a political climate that is all but at ease with our current representatives.
I am glad someone finally addressed the situation that although free college sounds great, putting it into action is a completely different subject. I have a friend that complains about taxes coming out of her paycheck, yet she was a Bernie supporter. A lot of college students only focus on the surface of a policy and do not take the time to figure out all that it entails. As far a Hillary Clinton goes, I do believe that she says she care a lot more about millennials than she actually does. It will be interesting to see, if she were to win, how much she would actually do for the younger generation. I may be wrong, but I believe Hillary Clinton cares about millennials for one reason and one reason only: votes.
@JMH55398, I completely agree with your feeling towards Clinton’s true agenda with young voters. It would seem that Hillary is more focused on the “women” vote and their future opportunities, while Trump’s “everyday man” slogan has been a constant staple for his campaign. Both candidates have seemed to have left young voters on the back burner, though not for lack of effort.
To be quite honest, I’ve been having the same concerns when it comes to Hillary Clinton’s plan as far as millennials go. Of course, she definitely has to say that she cares about millennials to secure the votes. But I am also skeptical and curious to see if she actually falls through with all that she has been saying. It is possible that millennials votes could go either way as we near the election and both candidates have made statements about reaching out to the younger generation, but in my opinion neither of them have been very convincing.