New Poll Illuminates Young Voters' Presidential Preferences and Political Bent

A new CBS News/New York Times/MTV poll determined that presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have the most enthusiasm behind them, at least from young voters (17-29 years old); Obama leads Clinton by one percentage point with 18% of the support, while former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani is third with only 4%. Additionally, nearly 75% of the young Americans interviewed said they were already registered to vote, and the rest planned to register prior to the 2008 election; they also listed the economy and the war in Iraq as their top concerns, followed by education and the environment.

According to the New York Times, young voters are also becoming more liberal: 28% described themselves as such, compared with 20% of the general population, while 27% of young voters called themselves conservative, compared with 32% of the general population. Additionally, 44% said that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, compared with 28% of the public at large. Furthermore, 52% of young voters say that Democrats rather than Republicans come closer to sharing their moral values.