Youth Vote Poll: Rubio bests Trump, Cruz against Clinton

Younger voters came out in droves to support Barack Obama in the past two presidential elections, however those conditions are not currently in place for Hillary Clinton. In fact, when it comes to the youth vote, Clinton has some serious competition; and it looks like the candidate she will have to beat is Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

According to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, in a hypothetical general election match-up, Clinton would easily defeat the two GOP front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz among voters ages 18- to 34-years-old, however she is tied with Rubio (45-45) among these young voters.

While many are skeptical whether Rubio will be able to win the youth vote given his conservative stances on same-sex marriage, abortion, and climate change, he is better positioned than the other leading Republican candidates.

The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent compared the Rubio’s campaign strategy, with its optimistic message of economic resurgence and “A New American Century,” to the campaign strategy of Ted Cruz, who is currently leading Rubio in the polls.

“The Rubio campaign is actively building its long term strategy around the belief that a GOP candidate must make inroads among Dem voter groups to win, while Cruz appears more wedded to the notion that running up huge turnout among evangelicals and other GOP base groups is the secret,” Sargent wrote. “Rubio is trying to strike hopeful, optimistic tones, and repeatedly says that a new generation of leaders is required, a point that Cruz appears far less interested in making.”

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