Pressing challenges like financial regulation, health care, and income inequality have been at the foreground of the 2016 presidential election. Some presidential candidates’ proposals to address these issues have been highly controversial, and according to Harvard Public Opinion Project’s Spring 2016 Poll, young Americans are not confident in the current state of politics to meet the nation’s challenges. Forty-seven percent of respondents agreed with this sentiment, while only 15 percent believe that the nation is generally headed in the right direction.
A closer look at the data shows that, while 61 percent of the respondents identify with the Democratic Party, the only candidate that the majority of the respondents views favorably is Bernie Sanders with 53 percent. As for the remaining candidates, Hillary Clinton was viewed favorably by 37 percent of respondents, John Kasich by 24 percent, Ted Cruz by 23 percent, and Donald Trump by only 17 percent.
As highly controversial statements from Trump and others flood the media, Millennials are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the state of politics and demanding change in the political system. A similar survey by the Harvard Public Opinion Project conducted in Spring 2015 revealed that 39 percent of young Americans believe that the nation is headed in the wrong direction. This percentage increased to 44 percent in Fall 2015 and now stands at 47 percent, based on the most recent survey.
It seems that Sanders has successfully appealed to the young Americans’ burning passion and desire for a political revolution. Of all of the candidates, he has proposed the most drastic changes, including universal healthcare, free college tuition, a more progressive tax code, and a $15 minimum wage. Regardless of whether or not these policies are feasible, Sanders has captured Millennials’ hearts by appealing to their dissatisfaction in the current state of politics.