Millennial generation’s enthusiasm waning as election draws near

A new national poll of America’s 18-29 year-olds by Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, finds waning enthusiasm for participation in the midterm elections as less than three-in-ten (27%) say they will definitely be voting in November, a drop of nine points from eleven months ago (36%).

The poll also finds a solid majority of Millennials (53%-42%) say they would prefer a Democrat-controlled Congress as an outcome of the November election. A detailed report on the poll’s findings is available on the Institute’s homepage at www.iop.harvard.edu.

“Although Millennial enthusiasm for the midterm elections seems to have slipped over the past year, recent election cycles show candidates who can motivate this critical demographic will have an important advantage in November,” said Harvard’s Institute of Politics Interim Director John C. Culver.

“In 2008, Millennials took control of their own destiny, entered the political process and changed the direction of the country,” said John Della Volpe, Director of Polling for the Institute of Politics. “Two years later, the challenges they face as a generation could not be higher. Let’s hope they reverse the current decline in interest and participation, and continue the process of becoming this era’s defining political force.”