Young-Old Voting Gap Remains Age 18-29 D+21 Democratic D+7 All voters D+14
And even though Democratic candidates won the 18- to 29- year-old vote by an 11-point margin, 54% to 43%, this group didn’t carry the same weight as it did two years ago when Barack Obama was re-elected. They made up a much smaller share of the electorate than in 2012, and the Democratic margins among this group also were not as large as in 2012.
This gap is the result both of the youngest voters (18- to 29- year-olds) consistently favoring Democrats over Republicans, while over this same time period voters 65 and older have consistently favored Republicans. Before 2004, there were little to no age differences in vote preferences going back more than two decades.
Young-Old Voting Gap Remains  | Age 18-29  | D+21  | I I  | Democratic  | D+7 All voters D+14  | by 11  | D+1  | Republican  | by 5  | R+1  | : S  | R+5  | R+7  | Republican  | Age 65+  | by 16  | R+21  | OO  | 02  | 04 06  | 08  | 10  | 12 14  | Gender Gap in Vote Preferences as  | Large as Ever  | Women  | 5 I  | D+12  | D+7  | Democratic  | R+1  | even  | by  | R+5  | D+3  | Republican  | by 5  | All voters  | S I  | Republican  | R+11  | by 16  | R+14  | Men  | 100 02 04 06 08 10 12 14  | Exit poll conducted by Edison Research for the National Election  | polls Pool, as reported by NBC Data from prioryears from national exit  | polls Data from presidentialyears is shareofvote for Republican  | presidentia candidate From midterm years shareofvote for  | Republican House can noidate  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 