A survey of the Super Tuesday youth vote released Wednesday revealed that Republican numbers are way up over the last two presidential elections — and Democratic numbers down from the 2008 high when Barack Obama first ran for president.
Helped by the GOP surge, overall youth voting was up over 2008 Super Tuesday contests, reaching over 1 million, according to Tuft University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, or CIRCLE.
The analysis found that younger voters did not race to the front runners Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald Trump. The big winners were Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
“Estimated youth turnout was high in Super Tuesday states, exceeding or rivaling turnout in 2008. This is notable because youth turnout in the 2008 primaries and caucuses almost tripled across the board compared to 2000, the previous year with competitive nominating contests in both parties,” said the report.
It added:
Young voters made up a larger proportion of the Democratic primary electorate than in 2008. In Texas, for example, the exit poll estimates that youth made up 20 percent of Democratic primary voters. While the overall number of young participants in Democratic contests went down since 2008, the data suggest the youth drop off may not have been as high as that of older voters.
Meanwhile, the estimated number of youth who voted in Republican contests increased compared to 2008. In some states, the increase was substantial. In Texas, 171,000 youth participated in 2008 and 281,000 in 2016. In Virginia, where more youth supported Senator Rubio than the state’s winner, Donald Trump, youth participation went from an estimated 53,000 in 2008, to 123,000 in 2016.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
