Donald Trump Still Has a Big Problem With Millennials
Millennials think Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lacks experience, leadership skills and compassion for the average American, according to a new poll. With some exceptions, Trump has struggled to win over millennial voters throughout his campaign, and a national Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday shows that hasn't changed. That matters because millennialsthe largest living generation in the U.S.now rival baby boomers as a political force, with both generations comprising about 31 of the electorate, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by Pew Research Center, which defines millennials as people currently in the 18-35 age range. The Quinnipiac poll showed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading Trump among likely voters by 10 points, but her lead was more pronounced among the youngest segment of votersthose aged 18-34. A majority of millennials 64 said they would vote for Clinton if a hypothetical two-person election were held right now, while just 29 said they would vote for Trump. Once third-party candidates were involved, the race became closer48 of millennials said they would vote for Clinton, 24 for Trump, 16 for Libertarian Gary Johnson and 11 for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. While both nominees struggle with popularity, Trump is far more unfavorable than Clinton among millennial voters, the poll found. A majority of millennials 61 have a strongly unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 35 have a strongly unfavorable opinion of Clinton. Notably, for both candidates, fewer millennials found them favorable than unfavorable. Read more Only 1 in 5 Millennials Lean Republican, Poll Finds, A majority of millennials said they doubted Trump's ability to keep the U.S. safe from terrorism and to make the right decisions about the economy, while a majority of millennials said they trust Clinton to do both. That's not to say they've thrown their support behind Clinton with great enthusiasm. Most millennials characterized Clinton as lacking honesty, and among all ages of voters, both candidates benefited from hypothetical votes against their opponent more than for their own campaign. While 78 of millennials think Clinton is qualified to be president, just 26 said the same of Trump. Seventy percent think he is not qualified. And an overwhelming majority of millennial respondents said the way Trump talks appeals to bigotry. The poll, which surveyed 1,498 likely voters nationwide from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. People in the 18-34 age range comprised 22 of those surveyed. The margin of error for that age group was plus or minus 7.9 percentage points.