IF this, if that....Maybe so many people who didn't vote on 4 NOV 14, especially Millennials, because they felt betrayed by a national democratic party that nominated, promoted, and funded too many candidates who really were little better than their gop / tea-bagger opponents and because our political system is so skewed to keep one of the two major political parties in power that they thought why bother? While republicans and tea-baggers are giddy over their victories nationwide, they should not see these election results as an endorsement of their extremist right wing policies but rather a rejection of jellyfish, blue dog, third way democrats. Proof of this can be seen in the results of votes on marijuana, personhood amendments and increasing the minimum wage in states across the country. This from +Mother Jones ....
| Wed Nov. 5, 2014 5:13 PM EST
The
GOP’s big Election Day victory may have a lot to do with who didn’t
show up at the polls—and one of the groups that stayed home at a record
rate were young people. According to an NBC News exit poll,
the percentage of voters aged 60 or older accounted for almost 40
percent of the vote, while voters under 30 accounted for a measly 12
percent. Young people’s share of the vote is typically smaller in
midterm elections, but the valley between age groups in 2014 is the
largest the US has seen in at least a decade.
And that valley made a huge difference for Democrats, because younger
voters have been trending blue. Some 55 percent of young people who did
turn up voted for Dems compared to 45 percent of those over 60.
An interactive predictor on the Fusion, the news site targeted at millennials, indicated how Democrats could have gained if young people had shown in greater numbers. Using 2010 vote totals and 2014 polling data, the tool lets users calculate the effect of greater turnout among voters under 30 in several key states.
On Tuesday, according to preliminary exit polls, young voters in Iowa favored Democrats by a slight margin—51 percent—but they made up only 12 percent of the total vote, leaving conservative Republican Joni Ernst the winner. In Georgia, 58 percent of young voters went for Democrat Michelle Nunn, but they made up 10 percent of the total who showed up to cast their ballots. In Colorado, where a sophisticated political machine delivered Democratic wins in 2010, the calculator shows that a full 71 percent of young people voted for Dems in 2010; exit polls indicate that young voters made up 14 percent of the final tally, leaving Mark Udall out in the cold.
If historical voting patterns hold, it's possible that these Democratic leaning millennials will turn out in greater numbers in the future. If so, that will bode well for Dems—as long as these voters don't also become more conservative as they age.
NBC News
An interactive predictor on the Fusion, the news site targeted at millennials, indicated how Democrats could have gained if young people had shown in greater numbers. Using 2010 vote totals and 2014 polling data, the tool lets users calculate the effect of greater turnout among voters under 30 in several key states.
On Tuesday, according to preliminary exit polls, young voters in Iowa favored Democrats by a slight margin—51 percent—but they made up only 12 percent of the total vote, leaving conservative Republican Joni Ernst the winner. In Georgia, 58 percent of young voters went for Democrat Michelle Nunn, but they made up 10 percent of the total who showed up to cast their ballots. In Colorado, where a sophisticated political machine delivered Democratic wins in 2010, the calculator shows that a full 71 percent of young people voted for Dems in 2010; exit polls indicate that young voters made up 14 percent of the final tally, leaving Mark Udall out in the cold.
If historical voting patterns hold, it's possible that these Democratic leaning millennials will turn out in greater numbers in the future. If so, that will bode well for Dems—as long as these voters don't also become more conservative as they age.
Felix Salmon, Fusion
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