Nate Silver: “None of the voters who were in the age 18-29 bracket the last time Obama was on the ballot in 2012 will be in that group next year. Today’s young voters may not have particularly clear memories of Obama or the somewhat kitschy, nostalgic treatment of Biden during his years as Vice President.”
“Instead, a voter in their late 20s will now have faced three consecutive elections with candidates they weren’t very enthusiastic about. Sanders, not Hillary Clinton or Biden, was the choice of young liberals in 2016 in 2020. This year, Democrats haven’t really had a contested nomination at all. ‘Hold your nose and vote for this old person that you didn’t want to be nominated’ is a tough message to sell three times in a row.”
“To be clear, I think the sales pitch will work with some young voters, particularly around issues like abortion and gay and trans rights. But Democrats aren’t making it easy on themselves by consistently nominating presidential candidates with little youth appeal.”
