Young voters turned out in unusually high numbers Tuesday, not only breaking heavily for Bernie Sanders a big margin, but also giving Donald Trump strong support.
Those were the findings of an analysis Wednesday by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE.
Forty-two percent of people aged 18 to 29 participated in the primary, just below 2008’s 43 percent. Among Democrats, Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, won 83 percent of their 2016 vote. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got 16 percent, according to exit poll data.
Among Republicans, Trump, the real estate magnate, topped his rivals by winning 37 percent of young voters. Next was Sen. Ted Cruz with 16 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., 12 percent.
Nineteen percent of Democratic voters and 15 percent of Republicans were 18 to 29, both unusually high levels.
“Young voters braved the winter weather and came out in large numbers in yesterday’s New Hampshire primaries, shattering the myth that they are unreliable voters who will only vote when it is convenient for them,” says Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of CIRCLE.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid