Poll Finds Young People Skeptical of Obama’s Re-election Prospects

President Obama speaks at a campaign rally at Ohio State University in October, 2010. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

A Harvard University poll released Thursday has potentially bad news for President Obama’s hopes of re-election. A plurality of Americans aged 18-29 who were polled predict that President Obama won’t win re-election. Thirty-six percent think he will lose his run for a second term, while just 30 percent predict he’ll be re-elected.

You can read an executive summary of the results here.

It is just one piece of data in a poll that shows the younger generation of Americans, often referred to as Millennials, are unhappy with the direction of the country and the performance of Democrats, Republicans and President Obama.

“While we are more than a year away – it’s important to note that with enthusiasm about politics and Washington down, nearly three-quarters of Millennials seriously concerned about jobs and the economy – and more believing that the President that they helped elect will lose, rather than win re-election – this survey may well serve as an ominous sign for Barack Obama’s 2012 chances and the political engagement of America’s largest generation,” said John Della Volpe, Polling Director at Harvard’s Institute of Politics in a news release.

President Obama has a 46 percent approval rating among Millennials, down from 55 percent in February. Congress, as it does with the nation at large according to other national polls, fares worse. Only 33 percent of Millennials approve of how Democrats in Congress are doing their jobs, while just 24 percent support Congressional Republicans’ job performance.

And in the 2012 matchups, Mr. Obama scores double digits above Republican frontrunners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney among the younger set.

While we are still a long way from November of 2012, the news from this poll shows that one of the pillars of President Obama’s victory coalition isn’t happy about where things are going under the president’s watch – 52 percent said the country was on the “wrong track.” And if that continues, you could see less enthusiasm to vote or volunteer among the young people were important to his 2008 bid.

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