In Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond, the youth vote in Presidential politics has proven itself the margin of victory.
According to CNN entrance polls, 22 percent of Democratic Iowa caucus goers were age 17-to-29. This is a larger percentage than 30-to-44 year old caucus goers among Democrats and equal to the amount of voters age 65 and over - age groups often focused on more by candidates.
Among Republicans, 11 percent of caucus goers were age 17-to-29. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the eventual winner of the Republican Iowa caucuses, led among young voters with 40 percent, while rival Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney followed distantly with 22 percent.
For Democrats the effect of the youth vote was even more apparent. Iowa winner U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., received 57 percent of the votes from caucus goers age 17-to-29. Former U.S. Sen.
John Edwards, D-N.C., received 14 percent and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., received 11 percent.
UW-Madison Students for Barack Obama Chair Ami ElShareif said Obama received the most youth votes because he can best relate to student issues.
He was against the war from the very beginning, which is an issue very close and very important to students today,"" ElShareif said.
Peter Rickman, UW-Madison Students for John Edwards Chair, said Edwards appeals to young voters because he has a message of ""transformational change.""
Rickman said Edwards was able to perform well in Iowa despite being outspent by his rivals and he expects the Wisconsin primary to play an important role in the election, despite it being after multiple primaries on Feb. 5.
In New Hampshire, Obama led among 18-to-24 year old voters with 60 percent to Clinton's 22 percent in New Hampshire, but saw his support among 25 to 29 year olds crumble in comparison to support in Iowa, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement survey.
The CIRCLE survey showed Clinton beating Obama 37 percent to 35 among 25-to-29 year olds in New Hampshire. Of the 51,218 primary voters aged 18 to 29, Clinton's lead among 25-to-29 year olds translates into roughly 9,500 votes. Clinton won the primary by less than 8,000 votes.
According to UW-Madison Students for Hillary Chair Pasha Sternberg, the results in New Hampshire show Clinton could appeal to student voters despite not often being portrayed as the ""youth candidate"". He said the New Hampshire primary also shows young voters can decide elections.
""The days where candidates don't pay attention to younger voters are no longer around,"" Sternberg said.
New Hampshire Republican winner U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ari., who was not even third among young voters in Iowa, beat Romney by 10 percent among 18-to-24 year old voters and beat Huckabee by over 30 percent among 25-to-29 year olds.
Increased turnout also shows the importance of the youth voting bloc. The CIRCLE survey said in the 2004 New Hampshire primaries 30,770 under 30 years old voters participated. In 2008 it was 84,232.
