Day: April 26, 2010

Gallup poll: Younger voters are less enthusiastic about voting in the upcoming midterm elections than older voters, which could present a challenge for the Democratic Party in re-energizing the voting bloc that helped President Obama win the presidency in 2008.

Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 47 percent say they are not enthusiastic, among 30-49s, it’s 41 percent; among 50-64s it drops to 41 percent, and for the 65+ set, it’s 29 percent. The most enthusiastic voters were 50- to 64-year-olds, with 44 percent saying they were very enthusiastic, versus only 23 percent of 18-29s.

According to a recent Gallup poll, the percentage of Americans who are registered or lean toward the Republican Party rose six points to 45 percent, versus 46 percent Democrat, in a poll that was taken from January through March 2010. That is the narrowest margin since 2005, when the two parties were tied at 46 percent.

The six-point rise in Republican support since the first quarter of 2009 is due entirely to a growing proportion of independents who lean to the Republican Party, rather than an increase in the percentage of Americans who identify as Republicans outright. (Gallup measures party identification by first asking Americans whether they identify as Republicans, Democrats, or independents. Those who are independent or express no party preference are then asked whether they lean more toward the Democratic or the Republican Party.)

At a speaking gig last week for the Manufacturers’ Association of South Central Pennsylvania, Newt Gingrich predicted that the tea party movement would eventually morph into the “militant wing of the Republican Party,” rather than spinning itself off into a third party.

A few tea party types have taken umbrage at Gingrich’s use of the word “militant,” but there has been scant complaint so far about his describing them as Republicans. This is potentially significant, because not so long ago tea partiers would have loudly denied they were aligned with the GOP or any party.

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