Obama hails young voter turnout for Democratic victories in midterm elections
Former President Barack Obama attributed Democrats’ strong performance in this year’s midterm elections to a voter base that historically couldn’t be counted on: young voters.
“Young people are voting,” Obama told the host of “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah. “It has been many times remarked how I got thumped during my midterms during my presidency, and part of it was that voting rates were really low.”
When it comes to why turnout has been so traditionally low among young voters, they’ve typically “got better things to do,” Obama said, half-joking.
But in this year's midterms, young voters showed up for Democrats. An early report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University estimated that youth turnout (ages 18 to 29) was the second-highest in the last 30 years at 27%.
Of those voters, 63% of them supported Democrats compared to 35% who supported Republicans, according to the report.
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“You’ve seen young people come and they’re typically voting at a rate of 70 to 30, 60 to 40, Democrat to Republican,” Obama said. “And that makes a huge difference. Their enthusiasm is really I think what drove this election.”
Reacting to early results the day after the election on Nov. 9, President Joe Biden made similar remarks.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about America's future than I am today,” Biden said at a press conference. “Particularly because of all these young people I’ve talked about, 18-30, they’re showing up.”
Young voters in this year's elections were so crucial because, Obama said, it is “such a polarized environment.”
“If they’re turning out at 21% instead of 18%, that can make an enormous difference,” said the former president.
One of the factors turning out young voters and Democratic turnout in general, Obama said, is former President Donald Trump. Trump's presence in the midterms has started conversations within the Republican party about pivoting away from his politics.
Related: Democrats spent millions boosting ultra right candidates in midterms. The strategy worked.
“Trump comes in and suddenly, 2018, 2020, and now this one, you see young people come in,” said Obama.
When it came to the general electorate, it wasn’t just Democratic politics that turned out voters, but “the other side,” Obama said, referring to far-right Republican candidates who struggled on election night.
“I like to think that part of what happened this election is that people said ‘Ok, some of this stuff is getting a little too crazy,’” Obama said. “It turns out there is a majority of the country that does prefer normal, not crazy. That’s a basis for hope.”