Young Democrats Once Again Outperform Young Republicans

Washington, DC— Young people continued the trend of increased turnout and preference for Democrats in the South Carolina Primary. Young people almost tripled their turnout numbers from 2004 and almost doubled the turnout numbers of young Republicans.

“Young people in South Carolina continued to carry the torch of this generation,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC. “While the race for President turned to gender and race this past week, young voters focused on turning out in high numbers and they represented strong at the polls for Democrats.”

Young people are successfully breaking through race and gender boxes that their parents and grandparents first faced and fought against. Barack Obama got over 50% of the young white vote, the only non-black age group to overwhelmingly vote for Obama. Young Democratic voters were once again decisive with their choice. Over 67% voted for Barack Obama versus on the Republican side the vote was split among Huckabee and McCain (35% vs. 28%). A generational divide also continues, while 67% of young people vote for Obama only 32% of 65 and older voted did and the majority of that older age group, 40%, went for Clinton.

Pundits and Democratic insiders are beginning to take notice of young Democratic voters as a powerful voting bloc. Once the results were in for the South Carolina primary, Tim Russert on MSNBC noted, “If you are going to be a successful candidate in November as a Democratic candidate you cannot win with just hard core white Democratic voters. You need young voters to come into the Democratic fold to transform states like Florida…or Ohio. You need to broaden the base of the Democratic Party.”

Initial Youth Vote Statistics from South Carolina*:

Young people were 9% of the overall Democratic primary vote in 2004 and increased that to 14% in 2008.

Young Democrats continue to outnumber young Republicans at the polls continuing a trend in every state since Iowa.

Obama continued to secure the youth vote getting 67% of the overall youth vote, the largest percentage of voters among all ages (i.e. other ages broke down for Obama as follows, 62% of 30-44, 55% of 45-49, 38% 60 and older).

In raw numbers, there were 291,000 overall Democratic voters, of which 26,000 were young people in the 2004 SC primary. Compared to 2008, the overall number rose to 507,352 voters of all ages and 74,245 young people voting in the Democratic primary, young people almost tripled their 2004 turnout numbers.

As a comparison to Republicans, their total was 442,918 and only 44,291 young people showed up, a decrease from the last Republican primary when over 55,763 showed up to vote.

*Numbers cited in the release come from CNN exit polls and CIRCLE, a respected source on young voter data.

Press Contact: Jane Fleming Kleeb, jane@youngvoterpac.org, 202-445-5263

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Hope to Turn Out the Youth Vote and Provide a “Meaningful Relationship with Democracy”

Las Vegas, NV—Three Democratic youth groups—Democrats Work, Young Voter PAC and Young Democrats of Nevada—are teaming up in Nevada to let young people know they need to caucus for Democrats on January 19th, but they don’t want it to be a one night stand.

“The lesson of Iowa and New Hampshire is that if you connect with young people in meaningful ways, they get involved,” said Thomas Bates, executive director of Democrats Work. “Our mission at Democrats Work is to engage young people in a new kind of politics – a politics of service – that blends community service and political action to make sure they stay involved after Saturday. Helping to turn out the youth vote on Saturday is the first step. With community service projects, Democrats will make sure that we don’t wait until November to engage young people again.”

Using a creative message to get young people’s attention and using non-traditional outreach in high school parking lots, bars and coffee shops, the three Democratic youth groups are hitting the streets to get their peers to the Nevada caucus and to provide opportunities all year long for them to stay involved in Democratic politics.

“Since August, the Young Democrats of Nevada have been aggressively educating young voters about the caucus process at high schools, colleges and communities around the state,” said Jason Fromoltz, President of the Young Democrats of Nevada. “We have seen firsthand the excitement among Nevada’s youth that has been generated by this campaign season and know that the youth vote will play a crucial role in deciding the winner of the Nevada Democratic Presidential Caucus.”

All three groups will remain active in Nevada after the caucus is over. Through community service programs, Young Democrat chapters and supporting candidates who target young people, the groups offer a wide range of activities young people in Nevada can do to have a “meaningful relationship with Democracy.” Research shows that with continued involvement more young people will show up for Democrats on Election Day in November.

“Young people showed up strong for Democrats in both Iowa and New Hampshire, now all eyes are on Nevada,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, the executive director of the Young Voter PAC. “Nevada young people increased their voting in 2004 by 13% and we know if candidates and youth groups target young people they will turn out again.”

More About the Groups:
Leaders of the groups quoted in this release, and featured below, will be in Las Vegas and are available for interviews. Press is also welcome to come with the volunteers to bars and other spots around Las Vegas.

Democrats Work is a national organization that mobilizes Democratic volunteers to do community service projects. Last year, DW partnered with Democratic organizations and elected officials in Nevada to paint out graffiti in Las Vegas and build trails and cleanup parks in Reno. Democrats Work was founded by Bates and his college roommate, Jason Carter, who is the son of 2006 U.S. Senate candidate, Jack Carter, and a grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

Young Voter PAC, a national group that helps Democrats win with the youth vote, is based on a simple idea…that politics is better off with more young people involved. The youth vote has emerged as a critical bloc of voters for Democrats in recent years and the Young Voter PAC helps Democratic candidates, state parties and allied groups with their youth vote strategies.

Young Democrats of Nevada is the official youth arm of the Nevada State Democratic Party. The Young Democrats is the largest youth political organization in the state of Nevada, comprised of chapters from schools and communities from around the state.

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Hey Nevada, we will be hitting the town in Vegas to hand out tshirts with the logos below…we hope to see you out and about. We will also be handing out flyers with caucus site info.

Taking their turn to prove young people vote when targeted, 18-29 year olds showed up strong for Democrats in New Hampshire increasing their turnout by at least 25% over 2004. The Young Voter PAC applauds both the Clinton and Obama campaigns for targeting young people. The Clinton campaign targeted young women and young people ages 25-29. Obama’s campaign targeted a broader spectrum of young people of all ages especially college-aged young people. The turnout numbers of young voters reflect the targeted campaigns.

“Those of us in the youth vote community are not surprised by Clinton’s win in New Hampshire,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, the Young Voter PAC Executive Director. “Clinton came out of Iowa knowing she needed to target young people and ran an aggressive campaign among non-college young people. The Obama campaign continued their youth vote outreach with a target on college-aged young people. Both college and non-college young people responded for Democrats and will show up strong in Nevada and South Carolina.”

Young people once again voted for Democrats over Republicans. In Iowa, 80% of the young voters voted for Democrats and in New Hampshire 61% of the young voters chose Democrats over Republicans. With young people making up 25% of the electorate this year, they will ensure a Democrat is the next President as long as the campaigns continue to run targeted programs to earn their votes.

Initial New Hampshire Youth Vote Numbers*:

The youth turnout rate rose to 43% in 2008 compared to 18% in 2004 and 28% in 2000.

61% of young voters ages 18-29 in New Hampshire chose Democrats over Republicans (raw numbers are Democrats 43,753, Republicans 28,288).

Young people choosing Democrats over Republicans continues the trend we saw in Iowa where 52,580 caucused with Democrats and only 12,650 turned out for Republicans.

Among Democrats, 18-29 year olds outperformed older voters (CNN exit polling):

• 18-29 year old voters made up 18% of the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
• 30-39 year olds made up 15%.
• 65 and older voters made up 13%.

Young people were split between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (CNN exit polling):

• 18-24 year olds supported Barack Obama (61%) over Hillary Clinton (22%);
• 25-29 year olds supported Hillary Clinton (37%) over Barack Obama (34%);

*Data and More Information: The Young Voter PAC (www.youngvoterpac.org) helps Democrats win with the youth vote through strategic advice, ground campaigns, media projects and endorsements. For a youth perspective on the youth vote, visit Future Majority blog (www.futuremajority.com). CIRCLE (www.civicyouth.org) provides data on young voters. All of the statistics come from CIRCLE, a respected source of young voter data unless otherwise noted.

We have plenty of theories this morning on how and why Clinton pulled out a win in the New Hampshire primary. I am happy to say the youth vote is not being blamed for Obama’s loss and instead the Clinton campaign and even some pundits are saying it was because of the youth vote that she won.

Our first concern in the youth vote community was less about who won or lost, and more about how the surge in Iowa would be portrayed if Obama did not win. The conventional wisdom in 2004 was all young people were voting for Dean. That was not true, young voters were split between Kerry, Dean and Edwards. However, that didn’t stop the media from blaming young people for Dean’s loss. Additionally, when Kerry lost the general election, we spent the next four years explaining that young people did turn out beating a record high from 1992. In the end, it simply did not matter though, the media wrote the youth vote story and it was “young people are all hype, they say they will show up but don’t.”

Cynics and pundits are on message now. We did not hear many people last night blaming Obama’s loss on young people and rather they were claiming it was young people who helped propel Clinton into victory. There may be something to that.

Obama has a wider youth campaign strategy and a broader youth movement happening right now which is why overall he has higher youth numbers. The Clinton campaign saw this and went after a group within the youth demographic they knew they could get-young professional women and working-class young people. Youth turnout overall jumped to 43% up from 18% in 2004.

Obama overwhelmingly got the 18-24 year old bloc (60% vs 22% for Clinton). The 18-29 year old bloc was split, with Clinton having a 2% advantage over Obama (37% Clinton, 35% Obama). If anything, the Clinton win gives the youth vote community an opportunity to tell the story that young people can and must be found on and off campus. Only about 25% of young people are in college, so if you want the youth vote you have to go where they live and where they hang out.

In last few days of the campaign, Clinton was able to appeal to working class young people with her message of Obama living in the clouds and she is working in the trenches. With this basic point, the Clinton campaign went after the 25-29 year old block.

We also can’t overlook her moment of tears. Some will say it was contrived, but it seems women ages 25-29 looked at that as first time Clinton showed that politics is about passion, not just a job. Young women in this age group are working on their early careers, struggling with making it and probably have had moments like Clinton had in the coffee shop. They may have said to themselves “yeah, I know how that feels when you work your butt off, try your best and it doesn’t seem to work out.” So they gave her another shot with their votes.

The good news for young voters is both campaigns-and I would bet Edwards as well-are looking at how much they are investing in their youth programs. We will be watching how the candidates talk about young voters, talk to young voters and what their GOTV efforts look like in Nevada and South Carolina and leading into Super Tuesday.

Young voters now have to decide-are they “fired up” and “ready to go” or do they jump on the “experience” bus. At the very least, the campaigns will have to retool their youth programs to reach the youth communities in Nevada and South Carolina. South Carolina has a large African American population and Nevada has large Latino pollution two parts of the youth community that in 2004 voted in record numbers for Democrats. We are confident Democrats will win the youth vote, 80% of young people in Iowa and 61% in New Hampshire voted for Democrats. The only question we have is which Democrat will they go for?

Jane Fleming Kleeb is the Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC which helps Democratic candidates and State Parties win with the 18-35 year-old vote through endorsements, on-the-ground support, training, strategy and money. She is a regular on Fox and is part of MTV’s Street Team ‘08 representing Nebraska.

Nevada Young Voters Show Up Strong for Democrats
Youth Vote Groups Vow to Make the Caucus More than a One Night Stand

Las Vegas, NV—Three Democratic youth groups—Democrats Work, Young Voter PAC and Young Democrats of Nevada—teamed up in Nevada to help turn the Democratic youth vote out and to ensure the caucus isn’t a one night stand. Young people 18-29 made up 13% of the overall turnout for Democrats. Young people took a generational stand with over 59% of young people caucusing with Obama and 33% caucusing with Clinton versus the caucus goers over the age of 60 going 60% Clinton and 31% Obama. Over three times as many young voters caucused for Democrats with nearly 15,000 showing up for Democrats and only 4,800 voting for Republican candidates.

“It is clear young people are keeping Obama competitive and that they are much more excited by Democrats overall,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, the Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC. “Campaigns need to continue to target young people if they want them to turn out. Democrats have a significant advantage among young voters, and we will be the difference between winning and losing in November. The earlier the campaigns partner with youth groups on the ground and run targeted field programs, the larger the number of young people will show up and help carry the candidate over the victory line.”

All three groups will remain active in Nevada post-caucus. Through community service programs and supporting candidates who target young people though the Young Voter PAC, Democrats Work, Young Voter PAC, and the Young Democrats offer a wide range of activities young people in Nevada can do to have a “meaningful relationship with Democracy.”

“Today’s caucus is the first step in engaging young voters in new and compelling ways in Nevada,” said Thomas Bates, Executive Director of Democrats Work. “We know that Nevada will be competitive in November, and we plan to build on the excitement generated by the caucuses to keep young Democrats visible and active throughout the year.”

“The youth vote in Nevada is diverse and disparate,” said Jason Fromoltz, President of the Young Democrats of Nevada. “Campaigns hoping to succeed in Nevada need to invest more resources into the youth vote. Building a relationship with youth vote groups on the ground and running target youth vote programs will reach more college and non-college young people for the general election in November.”

Prior to the caucuses, the Young Democrats of Nevada held “mockuses” in over 35 high schools across Nevada and at both UNLV and UNR. In the days leading up to the caucus, the three groups reached out to young voters in Clark and Washoe counties online and via email and in non-traditional canvassing in Las Vegas, including at local bars, coffee shops, high schools, and candidate rallies. The message of the 500 t-shirts and thousands of flyers handed out this week was: Make 1.19.08 More Than a One Night Stand; Build a Meaningful Relationship with Democracy.

PRESS CONTACTS:
Thomas Bates, Democrats Work
917-304-2460, tbates@democratswork.org

Jane Fleming Kleeb, Young Voter PAC
202-445-5263, jane@youngvoterpac.org

Jason Fromoltz, Young Democrats of Nevada
702-544-6055, jfromoltz@ydnv.org

Young people voted for Democrats over Republicans in the first two primary states. In Iowa, 80% of the young voters voted for Democrats and in New Hampshire 61% of the young voters chose Democrats over Republicans. With young people making up 25% of the national electorate this year, they will ensure a Democrat is the next President as long as the campaigns continue to run targeted programs to earn their votes.

Initial statistics for youth (ages 18-29) turnout in Iowa:

The youth turnout rate tripled in Iowa.

The youth turnout rate rose to 13% in 2008 compared to 4% in 2004 and 3% in 2000.

Out of all of Barack Obama’s support in Iowa, 57% came from young voters (CNN, MSNBC, FOX).

60% of the caucus participants were first time caucus goers and of those 39% of them went for Obama.

22% of the Democratic caucus goers were young people, up from 17% in 2004.

A total of 65,230 young people were caucus-goers in 2008. 52,580 caucused with Democrats and only 12,650 turned out for Republicans. That means of the young people that turned out, 80% were for Democrats!

The totals for both parties are 239,000 Democrats (compared to 125,000 in 2004) and 115,000 Republicans.

Initial New Hampshire Youth Vote Numbers:

The youth turnout rate rose to 43% in 2008 compared to 18% in 2004 and 28% in 2000.

61% of young voters ages 18-29 in New Hampshire chose Democrats over Republicans (raw numbers are Democrats 43,753, Republicans 28,288).

Young people choosing Democrats over Republicans continues the trend we saw in Iowa where 52,580 caucused with Democrats and only 12,650 turned out for Republicans.

Among Democrats, 18-29 year olds outperformed older voters (CNN exit polling):

• 18-29 year old voters made up 18% of the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
• 30-39 year olds made up 15%.
• 65 and older voters made up 13%.

Young people were split between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (CNN exit polling):

• 18-24 year olds supported Barack Obama (61%) over Hillary Clinton (22%);
• 25-29 year olds supported Hillary Clinton (37%) over Barack Obama (34%);

Young people proved all the naysayers wrong in Iowa by showing up strong for Barack Obama. The Young Voter PAC is proud of the three top Democratic campaigns that employed Youth Vote Directors. Young people are a growing bloc of voters for Democrats and Obama’s win tonight legitimizes their role in Democratic politics.

“After several years of targeting and talking to young people, the hard work of youth vote groups and candidates like Barack Obama who reach out to young people paid off. This is the first year the leading Democratic candidates all have a Youth Director and young voter outreach programs,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC. “The turnout numbers of young people prove if you target young people they vote.”

The Republicans have a long road to try and make up ground with the youth vote. Young people made up 22% of the Democratic caucus goers up from 17% in 2004. Young people made up only 11% of the Republican caucus goers. Additionally, Democrats of all ages outnumbered Republicans 2 to 1 and young Democrats outnumbered young Republicans 4 to 1 showing a continued trend of the country wanting a change in our national leadership.

Initial statistics* for youth (ages 18-29) turnout in Iowa:

The youth turnout rate tripled in Iowa.

The youth turnout rate rose to 13% in 2008 compared to 4% in 2004 and 3% in 2000.

Out of all of Barack Obama’s support in Iowa, 57% came from young voters (CNN, MSNBC, FOX).

60% of the caucus participants were first time caucus goers and of those 39% of them went for Obama.

22% of the Democratic caucus goers were young people, up from 17% in 2004.

A total of 65,230 young people were caucus-goers in 2008. 52,580 caucused with Democrats and only 12,650 turned out for Republicans. That means of the young people that turned out, 80% were for Democrats!

The totals for both parties are 239,000 Democrats (compared to 125,000 in 2004) and 115,000 Republicans.

More Information: The Young Voter PAC, a national group that helps Democrats win with the youth vote, helped over 150 students get back to caucus and reached over 58k young people ages 18-35 via email and text messages using innovative tools provided by InfoUSA. For more information on the Young Voter PAC visit www.youngvoterpac.org. For more statistics on the youth vote, visit www.civicyouth.org. For an on the ground perspective of the Democratic youth vote in Iowa visit www.futuremajority.com.

*All of the statistics come from CIRCLE, a respected source of young voter data unless otherwise noted.

Iowa is over, but we saved our home page post just for history’s sake…

Students Needing Help

If you are going to school in Iowa and want to come back and caucus, we can help. In order to get gas money and a hotel room just download and fill out this form. Email the form to jane@youngvoterpac.org. The form was due Dec. 31st but we can still help a few more!

Youth Caucusing Stories + Press Inquiries

We compiled a Youth Press Corps that includes youth voting experts and young people living in Iowa. Call Jane Fleming Kleeb at 202-445-5263 or email jane@youngvoterpac.org to set up interviews Some stats are located in our News section.

You can download the youth bios and contact info along with quotes from students carpolling back to Iowa.

Young Voter PAC Office in Iowa

You can find us at the Hy-Vee Hall, room 4, located on lower level 1.
The address is 703 3rd Street, Des Moines

Donate Today!

Donate today to help us pay for housing for students whose dorms are closed during the caucus.

Join Our Facebook Group
Join our Facebook Group to keep up to date with the latest news, join a carpool and to meet other young people who will caucus on January 3rd.

Need More Info on How to Caucus?
Check out www.youcancaucus.com.

So what is the deal with all of this?
Recently the Young Voter PAC along with allied groups like the Young Democrats of America, College Democrats of America and blog Future Majority urged various Democratic Presidential candidates to clarify their statements made to press in Iowa around the student vote.

We are happy that the majority of candidates responded with official statements to the Young Voter PAC.

You can continue to help us take action by getting as many students and young people as possible to the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 3, 2008.

Young Voter PAC Helps Students Get Back to Caucus: Providing Youth Vote Stories for the Press Community

Des Moines, Iowa–The Young Voter PAC, a national group that helps Democrats win with the youth vote, is helping over 150 students get back to caucus and reached over 58k young people ages 18-35 via email and text messages. The youth vote has emerged as a critical bloc of voters for Democrats in recent years. With the caucus falling during winter break this year, youth groups and campaigns are working overtime to help students get back to caucus for Democrats.

“This is the first year the leading Democratic candidates all have a Youth Director and young voter outreach programs. Many students and young voters have been working hard all year to get their peers to the polls,” said Jane Fleming Kleeb, Executive Director of the Young Voter PAC. “It only seemed right to help students get back to caucus when we found out the date would be during winter break.”

Helping over 150 students with gas money and reminding over 58k young people about the caucus, the Young Voter PAC is also connecting youth vote experts and young people to members of the press in order to tell the youth vote story. Conventional wisdom says young people don’t vote. The 2004 elections marked an increase in youth voting, followed by a youth voting increase in 2006. Groups expect the trend to continue in 2008.

In order to download the packet of youth voting experts, volunteers and students coming back to caucus visit: www.youngvoterpac.org (direct link is http://www.youngvoterpac.org/admin/uploadedpics/youth_experts_bios_iowa.pdf). The packet of experts include representatives from the Young Voter PAC, Young Democrats of America, Rock the Vote, PIRGs, College and Young Democrats of Iowa, CIRCLE, Future Majority and young volunteers and caucus goers.

A sample of stats and quotes from the packet are below:

In 2004, the number of 18-29 year old voters (20.1 million) rivaled the number of voters over the age of 65 (23 million).

In 2004, young people ages 17-29 made up 17.14% of the 124,000 Democratic caucus goers. This is an increase of approximately 8% points over 2000.

Young voters’ party identification is strongly Democratic (46% identify as Democrats compared to only 38% of older voters identifying as Democrats), reversing a trend where young people were evenly split among parties.

Running targeted voter registration and field programs matter. In the 10 most competitive 2004 battleground states where youth groups ran programs, turnout was 64.4% among young voters, compared to 48% across all other states.

“I am coming back to caucus because Iowa plays such a huge role in kicking off the election year. My participation in the caucus will be seen by the entire nation, as all eyes will be on Iowa on January 3rd. I feel it is my duty as a young American to participate actively in the future of this country.” - Carla Olszewski, Drake University

“I want to play a role and have an influence on these elections. Being born in Argentina and recently receiving my U.S. citizenship, I want to take advantage of the opportunities I have been given. I don’t want to regret not participating and then feel guilty that my preferred candidate was not elected.” - Julieta Garcia-Vicente, Grinnell College

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