Reuters/Ipsos surveyed 65,000 young adults in 2016, and then again at the same time in 2018—and the left seems to be quickly losing ground.
During the first three months of both 2016 and 2018, Reuters/Ipsos queried roughly 65,000 millenials on a range of issues, and their political affiliation. It was a credible poll—its margin for error no more than one percent—and what it showed suggests that even younger generations have begun to rethink their typically overwhelming allegiance to the Left.
In 2016, 55% of the surveyed youths reported that “if the election for U.S. Congress were held today,” they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate in their respective districts. Only 27% supported the idea of a Republican representative in the House, with the remaining 18% unsure.
But in 2018, the same question prompted a significantly different response: While outright Republican support was much the same, standing around 28%, support for a potential Democratic nominee had dropped to 46%, and the margin of those stranded between had risen to 26%.
While two years has not been enough to sway this new generation toward the Republican party, many seem to be growing disenfranchised with liberal efforts to recruit them. The Democratic National Committee’s Elizabeth Renda blames the party itself for that failure, following the results of the 2016 election. “Instead of having real conversations with them, we settled for TV ads,” she said.
Meanwhile, millennial voters have increasingly become of the mind that conservative leadership is a better steward of the economy. One of these is Terry Hood, a 34-year-old man who works at Dollar General in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In a phone interview with Reuters, Hood said, “It sounds strange to me to say this about the Republicans, but they’re helping with even the small things,” and “They’re taking less taxes out of my paycheck. I notice that.”
Others like Ashley Reed embraced conservative ideals once she started her family. Marrying a veteran shifted her perspective on the right to bear arms, and she began to lose faith in welfare programs. Having children convinced her that abortion was wrong. This year, she plans on voting Republican. “As I got older, I felt that I could be my own voice,” Reed asserted.