| | | | The real story of the 2018 midterms was the youths |  | | For decades of elections, the "youth" vote was like the city of Atlantis. It promised untold (political) riches, if only you could find it.
And like Atlantis, no one could. Sure, Barack Obama galvanized young people in 2008 and, to a lesser extent, 2012. But that felt like a personality-driven movement, as young people viewed Obama as their generation's John F. Kennedy. Without another Obama waiting in the wings, it was hard to see young people being so involved again.
All of which makes what happened in the 2018 midterm election so interesting. According to data published today by the Census Bureau, the prime driver of the record turnout in last November's election was voters aged 18-29.
"Among 18- to 29-year-olds, voter turnout went from 20% in 2014 to 36% in 2018, the largest percentage point increase for any age group — a 79% jump," wrote Census's Jordan Misra.
79%!
That mattered -- hugely -- because of how overwhelmingly young voters backed Democratic House candidates. Voters under 30 voted 67%-35% for Democratic candidates over Republican ones, according to 2018 exit polling. That was, by far, the biggest gap -- for either party -- among any age group.
(Interesting sidebar: For all of the talk of the surge of female voters in 2018, turnout increased roughly similarly from 2014 to 2018 among women, 12%, and men -- 11%).
On its face, that should worry Republicans. A Pew poll released earlier this year showed that millennials and Gen Z members are significantly more liberal -- across the board -- than members of older generations. Seven in 10 members of Gen Z (those born after 1996) believe government should do more to solve people's problems; 64% of millennials said the same. More than 6 in 10 in both generations said the increasingly ethnic and racial diversity in the country is good for society.
The Point: What motivated such a big youth turnout in 2018? My guess is Donald Trump. Who, yes, will be on the ballot again next November.
-- Chris | | "I think the investigations and all of the speculation that's happened for the last two years has had a much harsher impact on our democracy than a couple Facebook ads."
-- Jared Kushner suggesting Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian campaign meddling was worse for the country than the Russian meddling itself. | | |  | Joe Biden's big 2020 problem | | Biden's long political history means he'll have to face some major obstacles on his way to the Democratic nomination. Here's a look at the challenges he'll face as he enters the 2020 race.
You know what's not a problem? Subscribing to The Point on YouTube! | | Kathryn Joyce takes a deep dive into grieving Parkland
What to do about Sarah Sanders?
How Audible recorded the Mueller report as an audio book
A Jay Inslee super PAC has gotten ... creative with mining supporters' data
JFK Jr.'s George Magazine sounded fantastic
Two politicians in Bridgeport, Connecticut, took dueling drug tests after their internet fight escalated
Why Oobah Butler has ever been trusted is beyond me
Goat milk is so hot right now | | | Hold up, Beyonce's "Lemonade" is now on Spotify (and Lauren ain't sorry) | | 📦 YOU'VE GOT MAIL 📦 | | Among the litany of questions for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (and the four other presidential candidates) in last night's CNN town hall, Warren answered a query about the last thing she ordered from Amazon.
It was a mailbox 📫.
"What did they put the mailbox in when they delivered it?" asked moderator Anderson Cooper.
"It comes in a box. It was a box of mailbox," Warren replied.
Need a cheat sheet on the five hours of town halls last night? We've got you covered with the 14 biggest takeaways. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Joe Biden: Is expected to announce his presidential campaign (aka, he's officially running) on Thursday morning via video. He'll then hold his first campaign event the following Monday in Pittsburgh, with additional stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to come.
Larry Hogan: Appeared at New Hampshire's Politics & Eggs, but says he's still exploring whether it makes sense for him to challenge Trump in the GOP primary. "I've been to 10 states in the past few months, I have 16 more on my schedule, but I'm not at the point where we're ready," Hogan told reporters.
Pete Buttigieg: Will participate in a Fox News town hall on May 19.
Bernie Sanders: Supports restoring voting rights to criminals because "the right to vote is inherent to our democracy."
Kamala Harris: Says Congress should take steps toward impeaching President Donald Trump. | |
COHEN'S HEADED BEHIND BARS | | Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen is officially headed to prison on May 6.
Cohen was initially scheduled to report to prison in March, but received a two-month extension for shoulder surgery and to cooperate with the congressional inquiries around his connections to Trump.
He's set to serve his three year sentence at a federal prison in Otisville, New York -- known as one of "America's cushiest prisons." | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment