GOP Sees Boost in Millennial Support Before Election

A new poll of millennial voters finds a majority of those who will definitely vote in next week’s midterm election prefer a GOP-controlled Congress, a shift from a similar poll conducted before the 2010 election.

The Harvard Institute of Politics survey found that 51 percent of 18-29 year olds who are sure they will vote prefer Republican control, compared to 47 percent for Democrats. For all millennials — including those unsure about whether they will vote — 50 percent prefer Democratic control, while 43 percent prefer the GOP.

The results are a dramatic reversal from 2010, when those who were certain to vote preferred Democratic control 55 percent to 43 percent, and indicate that the Democratic hold on younger voters may be waning. Young conservatives are also more excited about voting this fall than their liberal counterparts, the poll found.

Among millennials, once a reliably strong block of support for President Barack Obama, the president’s approval rating has fallen to 43 percent, with 57 percent disapproving of his job performance. Obama’s handling of immigration reform has also brought his approval among Hispanic American youth to new lows. Just 49 percent of young Hispanics approve of Obama’s job performance, down from 60 percent in April, and 81 percent in 2009. The drop in support comes as Obama promised executive action on immigration over the summer, before deciding to delay his action until after the election to prevent political blowback from hitting Democrats.

Only 23 percent of young Americans have a positive view of Republican members of Congress.

“While Democrats have lost ground among members of America’s largest generation, millennial views of Republicans in Congress are even less positive,” Harvard Institute of Politics Polling Director John Della Volpe said in a statement. “Both parties should re-introduce themselves to young voters, empower them and seek their participation in the upcoming 2016 campaign and beyond.”

The survey of 2,029 18- to 29- year-old U.S. citizens was conducted between September 26 and October 9 and has a margin of error of ±2.6 percentage points.