Millennials hold dim views of politics, economy, poll shows

CAMBRIDGE – As Donald Trump increasingly dominated the Republican presidential field over the primary season, the gap widened between millennials who support Democratic control of the White House and those who prefer a Republican in charge, with more than 60 percent favoring Hillary Clinton to a quarter who back Trump, a poll released Monday shows.

Support for keeping the presidency in Democratic hands climbed to 61 percent from 55 percent a year ago among Americans 18 to 29, while those who favor a Republican White House fell to 33 percent from 40 percent a year earlier, the survey from Harvard University's Institute of Politics shows. As Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton have emerged as likely to face off in November, the net support in favor of the Democrat has nearly doubled to 28 percentage points among millennials in the survey from Spring 2015.