Young voters proved to be surprisingly central to the Democratic race again Tuesday night.
Just five days after young Iowa voters startled observers with their unusually high turnout, the youth vote came out in large numbers in New Hampshire. Forty-three percent of voters under 30 voted in Tuesday’s primary, more than twice the18 percent who voted in 2004, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.
But, after Iowa, the surprise wasn’t that they came out — it was who they came out for.
While Democratic Iowa caucus-goers under 30 went strongly for Obama, who got 57 percent of their votes, according to CNN entrance polls, New Hampshire’s young people were decidedly divided.
Obama easily beat Clinton among 18- to 24-year-olds in New Hampshire, 60 percent to 27 percent. But Clinton surprised observers by actually edging out Obama among 25- to 29-year-olds, 37 percent to 35 percent.
Her edge among voters between 25 and 29 was a crucial component of her 39 percent to 37 percent victory.
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