By Phil Ahad, SVP of Toluna Quicksurveys
There are approximately 80 million U.S. Millennials today, which gives them quite a bit of political influence. In turn, politicos and campaigners need to understand what makes them tick, what they’re looking for in a representative, and perhaps just as important, what they are not looking for.
As new candidates announce their participation (daily, it seems) and local and national campaigns begin to heat up, 1,000 U.S. Millennials were polled about their political views and behaviors.
Let’s begin with good news: the majority of Millennials do intend to visit the voting booths in 2016. In fact, 91% plan to vote in the 2016 presidential election. In general, though, 38% typically vote in both presidential and local elections. Of these masses of voters, 41% of those polled identify themselves as members of the Democratic party, 21% with the Republican party, 16% with the Independent party and 22% don’t associate with a political party.
Here are some other key takeaways the Clinton-Cruz-Bush-Paul-Rubio’s of the world need to know:
Parental / Family Influence
- 31% say it’s somewhat or very likely that the voting choice of one or both of their parents will influence their voting choice.
- Contrarily, 32% say it’s not at all likely that the voting choice of one or both of their parents will influence their voting choice.
What Matters More: Financial Or Social Issues?
- 40% say financial issues (perhaps not surprising that the generation with the most debt is focused most on financial issues!)
- 25% say social issues.
- 35% say they’re both equally important.
Media Preferences: Where Will You Follow The Campaigns?
- TV – 72% (The Boob Tube Still Reigns Supreme!)
- Facebook – 56%
- Online news outlets – 47%
- Newspapers – 37% (Print is not dead!)
- Twitter – 29%
- Instagram – 20%
Do you Wear Your Political Heart on your Sleeve?
- 17% have signage from a previous presidential election displayed somewhere that’s visible to the public.
- 10% have signage for the 2016 presidential election displayed somewhere that’s visible to the public.
- 76% have none.
Millennials are most aware of Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney when polled…
- 53% are very familiar with Clinton’s stance.
- 41% are very familiar with Romney’s stance.
Thoughts on the Lesser Well-Known Politicos:
- 59% have never heard of Martin O’Malley.
- 59% have never heard of Jim Webb.
- 67% have never heard of Lincoln Chafee.
- 51% have never heard of Scott Walker.
- 55% have never heard of Bernard Sanders.
- 58% have never heard of Bobby Jindal.
- 57% have never heard of Carly Fiorina.
- 49% have never heard of Ben Carson.
Do Millennial Women / Minorities Stick Together?
- 70% of women say it’s very important to them that the candidate they vote for is a woman; 30% of men think the same.
- 36% of respondents of Hispanic/Latino descent say it’s somewhat important to them that the candidate they vote for is a minority.
What Turns You Off to a Candidate?
- An arrogant attitude – 50%
- Attacking their opponents too aggressively – 28%
- Cheesy advertisements – 14%
- Too harsh to interviewers – 8%
For Millennials that don’t vote, which of the following best describes why?
- 43% don’t follow politics.
- 25% haven’t felt strongly about a particular candidate to vote for them.
- 14% don’t think their vote will make much of a difference in the scheme of things.
- 6% think it’s a hassle to register.
- 12% for other reasons.
About Toluna QuickSurveys
Toluna QuickSurveys takes the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of DIY survey-tools and adds speed and reliability by providing direct access to a global panel of more than six million people available to respond to surveys. No other survey tool in the market can match the speed, reliability and cost-effectiveness.
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