What’s Best for the Collective versus the Singular? A CNN Political Commentator on the Popular Issues of Millennials in the 21st Century
Whether they are marching against gun violence, advocating stronger action against climate change or pushing for or against abortion rights, young Americans of all political stripes have been engaged in some of the prominent social movements of the 21st century.
Although I don’t believe that younger voters will vote in the upcoming election, my firm believes that voter turnout will be a historic 125M votes in a year where the race is expected to be close.
People in their 20s living in states with competitive Senate and governor’s races talked about the issues that were important to them. Though President Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan had been in the news, none said it was a top issue. One woman said what’s best for the collective versus the singular was what they discussed. The name of the woman isMaggie Astor.
Editor’s Note: Kristen Soltis Anderson, a CNN Political commentator, is a Republican strategist and pollster and author of “The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (and How Republicans Can Keep Up.)” The views expressed in this commentary are her own. There are more opinions on CNN.
Dark Brandon: A Meme of President Joe Biden in the era of the Black-Hole Era and the Age of the Internet
For those who do not know – and my own polling suggests that is most everyone reading this – “Dark Brandon” is a meme of President Joe Biden, rendered as an all-powerful hero (or villain, depending on your perspective). The Democrats appropriated the phrase to praise the President.
The meme reached its height of power earlier this month when the Democratic group Building Back Together released a 30-second ad featuring a meme of the president and lasers coming from his eyes. The message? Student loan debt is an exciting issue and Biden is a successful hero on it. Or rather, “if you’re unenthused about Biden and the Democratic Party, please don’t be.”
Biden became the leader of the country and the Democratic Party after Donald Trump lost the presidency. Even before he was the Democratic presidential nominee, his polling among young voters was always a disappointment; only one third of voters under the age of 30 held a favorable view of him.
What is especially troublesome for Democrats is that this is all happening against a backdrop of young Americans being increasingly vocal about their politics. Generation Z andMillennials seem to want to work for employers that align with their political and cultural beliefs, but companies are not sure how to lure them. I regularly hear from business leaders who know that younger consumers are voting with their wallets and opting for products and services that match their values.
Republicans said that a red wave would likely crush any hopes of a Democratic majority. But as the dust settles and vote counts wrap up, that prediction has shattered.
Democrats were better off in battleground states like Florida and New York, where polls often underestimated their support. On the eve of the election, FiveThirtyEight’s poll average had Dr. Mehmet Oz ahead by just half a point, only to see him lose by 4 percent in the final tally. In Michigan, the same average put incumbent Governor Gretchen Whitmer only five points ahead of her Republican challenger; but on election day, she won by more than 10 points.
Discipline is Smarter than Politics: Why Smartphones Can Help a Social Media Campaign in the Era of Midterm Elections
Lubin, the CEO of Rise, a student-led nonprofit advocating for free college, said on Wednesday that it was a combination of technology and missing the story about what is happening in this country.
Robocalls and texts have increased tremendously over the last few years. Pollsters rely on the people to pick up their phones or click on the links they send out to complete surveys.
Americans received more than 6 billion robocalls in October alone, including nearly 25 million political robocalls and 1.29 billion political robotexts, according to RoboKiller, an app that blocks spam calls and texts.
The director of polling at YouGov Blue states that younger people are more astute than older people when it comes to links. Discipline with their devices is much better.
Unlike corporate marketing firms, political pollsters run on much tighter budgets with even greater demand for accurate data returns, making experimentation to reach younger audiences far more difficult. The possibility of stricter online privacy regulations and the possibility of automated calls on phones will force polling firms to change how they do business.
Ray told people to figuring out what they were going to be doing for the social network. We are trying to get people to take surveys off of the channels that they watch.
In the lead up to the 2020 elections, a new lens on Snapchat encouraged users to fill out surveys to appear in their Stories. While the surveys aren’t as scientific as those created by professional firms, the data gathered could help Snap, whose users are predominantly younger, fill in the youth polling void.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/12/23453798/midterms-election-whitmer-fetterman-democrats-red-wave-polling-discord-facebook-youtube
Whitmer’s tight race against Tudor Dixon: Why voters are often often wishcasting operations at this point in elections, writes The New York Times
Hundreds of students in Michigan lined up to vote on Election Day. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was in a tight race against her Trump-endorsed Republican opponent Tudor Dixon. The polls had them neck and neck. In the end, Whitmer secured reelection by over 10 points, according to The New York Times.
“Polls are often wishcasting operations at this point,” Rodericka Applewhaite, communications director for the Michigan Democratic Party, told The Verge on Wednesday. Pollsters will have to ask themselves how they can stay relevant and interesting in this field.