IOP Poll on Young Adults Indicates Waning Approval for Obama

The majority of young adults disapprove of current healthcare reform efforts and their approval rating of President Barack Obama is at its lowest point since 2009, according to Institute of Politics poll results that were released Wednesday.

The national poll, conducted biannually by the IOP, surveyed 2,089 members of the millennial generation—young Americans aged 18 to 29—on a range of political and economic issues, including perceptions of government officials and opinions on the federal deficit.

According to the IOP’s report, 41 percent of young adults surveyed approved Obama’s performance, an 11 percent drop from last year, and 52 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 said they would choose to remove him from office if given the chance. Similarly, the report indicated that support for members of Congress has dropped since last year, with approval rates for Democrats and Republicans at 35 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

“I’m surprised by the way in which the relationship between Obama and the millennials [has] soured,” said Director of Polling for the IOP John D. Della Volpe, who led the study group of undergraduates who conducted the survey. “If you asked me four or five years ago, I don’t think I would’ve predicted this. Millennials are beginning to answer more like preceding generations over time.”

The report also revealed that over half of all respondents disapprove of the Affordable Care Act, with over three-fourths of respondents saying that they believed their quality of care would stay the same or get worse under the Affordable Care Act.

Some of this disapproval, according to IOP Director C.M. Trey Grayson ’94, stems from the media’s coverage of problems with the government’s health- care website and the impact of the ACA on young adults.

Survey respondents also weighed in on student and federal debt. The poll indicated that millennials across the political spectrum classify student debt as a “major problem,” with 42 percent of respondents believing colleges and universities are most responsible for rising student debt. Thirty percent attributed the problem mainly to the federal government. On the issue of decreasing the federal deficit, 69 percent of respondents endorsed the Buffett Rule, which would require those making over $1 million a year to pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, and 71 percent supported slashing foreign economic aid in half.

Della Volpe said that the millenials’ general disapproval of the government results from their “passion” for solving current issues.

“They’re passionate about government, they’re passionate about America, and they want to go to work and solve the issues that are facing this generation and future generations,” he said. “They’re upset with Washington today, but they care deeply about their country and the role that government can have in helping solve the problems of the future.”

Grayson added that the IOP has witnessed a “significant reengagement” of young adults in the political process since the first poll was taken in April of 2000. Nearly 68 percent of millennials are registered to vote.

Della Volpe said that he hopes the poll results will encourage politicians to engage with young Americans.

“I’m hoping that Democrats and Republicans in D.C. look at the study and realize that there’s a very serious issue of trust between government and younger Americans,” Della Volpe said. “In order to heal that fracture between young people and government, both sides need to be more collaborative, work together, and listen to younger people.”