Huffington Magazine Issue 1 | Page 50

nine states he won, he took at least 60 percent of the under-30 vote, according to analysis by CIRCLE. In an eighth state, Virginia, he narrowly missed the 60 percent mark. Evidence of discontent among young voters has pollsters seriously questioning whether Obama will be able to engineer a similar showing this time. Obama’s heavy dependence on youth votes in battleground states explains why the Romney campaign is expending resources, including appearances at universities, on courting younger voters. On its face, this strategy might seem like a waste of energy and money: Romney not only trails badly in polls among young people, but Democrats tend to have a much easier time winning younger voters, given their liberal proclivities on social issues, environmental regulation and foreign policy. But for Romney, the objective is not to win a large share of votes. It is to deprive Obama of a smidgen of his base — a potentially decisive smidgen. “He needs to replicate what he did in 2008,” says Ryan Williams, a spokesman for the Romney campaign. “Young voters generally vote for Democrats, but we think Governor Romney’s message of fiscal responsibility and pro-job growth policies will appeal to them and bring some of them over to our side.” Pollsters suggest Romney has legitimate reason for optimism. Last time, Obama had the benefit of running against McCain, whose lengthy Senate tenure and sometimes-befuddled debate performances provided an inexhaustible source of age-related hilarity for late night television. McCain compounded his troubles by attacking Obama as inexperienced, a tack that merely enhanced their generational differences. McCain suffered the worst drubbing among young people since 18-year-olds got the right to vote in 1972. Romney has his own problems, including unscripted and explosive utterances that have made him look detached from economic reality. But merely trying to do a little better than McCain may prove a low bar. Though Obama is still running strong among youth voters in the polls, the details reveal sharp differences across racial lines. The Harvard survey found Obama leading Romney among young voters by 43 percent to 26 percent, with 30 percent undecided. Young black and Hispanic voters favored Obama by spreads of ELECTION 2012 Obama & Young Voters HUFFINGTON 06.17.12