Politics

Young people turn on Obama

Alexis Levinson Political Reporter
Font Size:

President Barack Obama has always had a strong approval rating with young voters, but now, a majority of young people under age 25 would recall him if they could, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Harvard University Institute of Politics poll of millenials found that 52 percent of young people would recall Obama if that were an option. Among young people age 25 to 29, 40 percent said they would recall the president.

Overall, 47 percent of young people ages 18-29 said they would recall him, while 46 percent said they would not.

The results are based on interviews with 2,089 Americans between ages 18 and 29 from Oct. 30 through Nov. 11. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Even some young voters who supported Obama last year have turned their back on him: 19 percent of 2012 Obama voters 18-29 said they would recall him, and 17 percent said they would not vote for him today.

Just 41 percent of millenials said they approved of the president’s job performance, while 54 percent said they disapproved.

Congress fares even worse: 52 percent of millenials would recall every single member of Congress, if they had the option.

The Affordable Care Act has also been a tough sell with millenials, the poll found. Fifty-six percent said they disapproved of the health-care law when it was called the Affordable Care Act; 57 percent said they approved of it when it was titled Obamacare.

Forty-four percent said they believed the quality of their health-care would get worse under the Affordable Care Act, compared to 17 percent who said they believed it would improve, and 34 percent who expected it to stay the same.

Forty percent believed it would get worse under Obamacare, with 18 percent saying they expected to get better health-care, and 37 percent expecting roughly no change. Fifty percent said they also expected higher health-care costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, and 51 percent for Obamacare.

Only 25 percent of young voters who lack insurance (22 percent of young voters lack insurance) said they intended to enroll in the exchanges. That could have serious consequences for the price of health care on the exchanges: the system needs a number of younger and likely healthier enrollees to balance out the higher costs of covering older people and people with pre-existing conditions.

The administration said last month that it planned to roll out a campaign targeting young people, after initial reports showed few young people enrolling in the exchanges.

Follow Alexis on Twitter