Poll: American millennials want Democrats to control Congress, but aren't hopeful about the future

Morgan Whitaker
Updated ·2 min read

On the heels of President Donald Trump securing his first major legislative victory under the Republican-controlled Congress, a new poll of young voters finds that increasingly important voting group would rather Congress be controlled by Democrats.

The new Harvard Public Opinion Project survey found that nearly two-thirds of the millennial voters want Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, while the remaining third would like Republicans to be in charge.

Millennial votes made up 25 percent of ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election, and that number is expected to grow in the coming years.

But the results weren't all rosy for Democrats, as only 34 percent agreed that Democrats care about “people like them.” While far from stellar, that number does outshine the 21% positive response given when the question’s focus switched to Republicans.

The respondents, who were between the ages of 18 and 29, were largely pessimistic about the future of the United States. Only 14 percent said they believed the country is headed in the right direction while 67 percent expressed fear about the future.

Whether or not such bleak visions of the coming years and even decades manifest is something millennials are in a strong position to influence.

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“American political institutions are at a tipping point. Millennials are now the largest generation in the electorate,” John Della Volpe, the polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute Of Politics, said in his analysis. “This poll and the Virginia election show that they are becoming more motivated — and I believe the fear that exists today about our future will soon be turned into the fuel that will reform our government. The only question is whether this comes from inside or outside the traditional party structure.”

The poll was conducted from October 31 to November 10 and involved 2,037 participants.