Much ado is made about various voting factions but in 2008, undoubtedly the “youth vote” was the most sought after group for Barack Obama. The 18-29 demographic was big for his win last time around and he’s working feverishly to recapture similar enthusiasm. Unfortunately for the President, some recent polling shows this voting bloc may be not be as locked up in 2012.
Report from the Washington Examiner:
For the first time since he began running for president, Republican Mitt Romney has the support of over 40 percent of America’s youth vote, a troubling sign for President Obama who built his 2008 victory with the overwhelming support of younger, idealistic voters.
Pollster John Zogby of JZ Analytics told Secrets Tuesday that Romney received 41 percent in his weekend poll of 1,117 likely voters, for the first time crossing the 40 percent mark. What’s more, he said that Romney is the only Republican of those who competed in the primaries to score so high among 18-29 year olds.
“This is the first time I am seeing Romney’s numbers this high among 18-29 year olds,” said Zogby. “This could be trouble for Obama who needs every young voter he can get.”
Granted this is from Zogby, a pollster with a mixed track record but I think it is worth mentioning and watching in future polling. Paul Ryan seems to have given Romney a boost with this demographic as well so we’ll see how this plays out in the coming weeks.
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