Bernie Sanders is profoundly changing how millennials think about politics, poll shows

[Jackie Wilson Said]

This is huge, once we are beyond the divisive crap going on with the Bernie vs Hillary stuff, we can focus (ALL of us, that is,) on what a tremendous accomplishment it is that Bernie started, and without Hillary could not have achieved maybe.

After Bernie Sanders's defeat in New York last week, his chances of winning the Democratic nomination are dwindling. Yet, even if he loses this campaign, a poll published Monday suggests that Sanders might have already won a contest that will prove crucially important in America's political future.

http://iop.harvard.edu/iop-now/harvard-iop-spring-2016-poll

In the Past Year, 18- to 29-Year-Olds Net Preference Nearly Doubled for Democrats to Maintain Control of White House.

Look at what has happened, millennials are going to be more involved now and in a progressive way.

This is huge, it really is.

[tonyt53]

1. But they have to vote in EVERY election

The problem is that those in that age group lose interest in politics very quickly. People over 60 vote reliably. Us first time voters in 1972 learned a hard lesson about that.

[whatthehey]

2. It is certainly a positive if they stay engaged

Sanders has done a lot of good things for the left, win or lose, and giving the woefully low-voting younger demographic a kick in the pants is on the list. What little data I've seen on primary crosstabs indicate they are not really voting much more yet, even with Sanders on the ballot, so it's questionable if they will in the general regardless of his nomination chances (although it's surely true they are more likely to turn out with him than without). Howeever even if this is a "dry run" that just manages to get them registered and interested and learning about how the system works, there's a likely net positive to a more socially liberal generation paying morte attention to politics, if it can be sustained. We can only hope for turnout well above half that of retirees for once.