Institute of Politics poll finds young voters “fearful”

A new national poll of America’s 18- to 29-year-olds by Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics (IOP) finds Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by 28 percent. Clinton captured 49 percent of likely young voters’ support while Trump received 21 percent in a four-way race. Gary Johnson garnered 14 percent and Jill Stein received 5 percent, with 11 percent remaining undecided. Clinton is also polling ahead of President Obama’s 2012 polling numbers among key groups within this demographic.

The IOP’s newest poll results – its 31^st major poll release since 2000 – also show that a majority of 18- to 29-year-olds are fearful about the future of America. When asked about the future of the country, 51 percent of young Americans feel “fearful” and 20 percent feel “hopeful.” A detailed report on the poll’s findings is available online.

“Young voters are fearful about the future of America, and that is moving them to action. I am hopeful that the next president and leaders in Congress will empower and engage them after the election to move our country forward,” said Harvard Institute of Politics polling director John Della Volpe.

Methodology

The goal of the project was to collect 2,000 completed interviews with young Americans between 18- and 29-years old.  The main sample data collection took place from Oct. 7–17. A small pretest was conducted prior to the main survey to examine the accuracy of the data and the length of the interview.