Scott Keeter Pew Research Center Brookings West / UNLV October 8, 2010 Political Attitudes of the Millennial Generation in the Intermountain West

Topics for Exploration Partisan and ideological tilt of Millennials Fundamental social and religious values Attitudes about political issues Political engagement Values and opinions on current issues

Evidence from Many Sources Pew Research Center surveys since 2000 Pew Forum’s Religious Landscape Survey 2007 US Census surveys on voter turnout National Election Pool exit polls Brookings / UNLV 2010 survey

Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages in the Intermountain West Pew Research Center surveys

Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages in the Intermountain West Pew Research Center surveys

Republican Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages Pew Research Center surveys

Republican Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages Pew Research Center surveys

Democratic Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages Pew Research Center surveys

Democratic Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages Pew Research Center surveys

Self-Identified Ideology: Conservative surveys by Pew Research Center

Self-Identified Ideology: Liberal surveys by Pew Research Center

Obama Vote 2008 NEP exit poll

2010 Obama Approval 2010 Pew Research Center surveys

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, COMMITMENT AND MORAL VALUES Pew Research Center surveys

Religious Affiliation: Atheist, Agnostic, Nothing in Particular surveys by Pew Research Center

Religious Affiliation: White Evangelical Protestant surveys by Pew Research Center

Attendance at Religious Services: Weekly or More Often surveys by Pew Research Center

Government Should Do More to Protect Morality in Society 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

Homosexuality Should Be Accepted by Society 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

Abortion Should Be Legal in All or Most Cases 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

OTHER ISSUES AND VALUES Pew Research Center surveys

Government Should Do More to Help Needy Americans 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

Stricter Environmental Laws and Regulations are Worth the Cost 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

The Best Way to Ensure Peace is Through Military Strength 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

Rather Have a Smaller Government Providing Fewer Services 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT Pew Research Center & US Census surveys

Follow What’s Going on in Government and Public Affairs Most of the Time 2007 Pew Forum Religious Landscape Survey

2008 Voter Turnout by State US Census surveys compiled by CIRCLE

Registered to Vote surveys by Pew Research Center

CURRENT ISSUES AND VALUES Results from the August 2010 UNLV/Brookings West Survey

Things in the Country are Going in the Right Direction Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Arizona’s Immigration Law “Goes Too Far” Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Same-Sex Marriage Should be Recognized by the Law as Valid Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Political Values on Which Millennials Are Similar to Others TotalAges nd Amendments rights are threatened 6465 Government programs for the poor undermine individual responsibility 6062 Gone too far mixing religion & politics 5859 Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Political Values on Which Millennials Are Slightly More Liberal TotalAges We must do whatever is necessary to protect against terrorism, even if it means restricting civil liberties 5045 Minorities still lack the same opportunities as whites 4752 If financially able, women should stay home and take care of household 4438 Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Political Values on Which Millennials Are Significantly More Liberal TotalAges Cultural institutions should receive government support 6174 Reduce gap between rich and poor even with higher taxes for wealthy 5162 Labor unions play a positive role in our economy 5064 Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Millennials Favor More Federal Government Involvement TotalAges Environmental protection and cleanup 5564 Guaranteeing quality public education 5870 Promoting renewable energy 5967 Making affordable health care available to everyone 4965 Creating jobs and economic growth 6674 Promoting the role of faith in public life 2229 Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

…But Not on Every Issue TotalAges Cracking down on crime and drugs 5962 Stopping the flow of illegal immigrants 7464 Dealing with millions of illegal immigrants already here 7060 Aug survey by Gerstein Agne

Vote for House of Representatives Sept survey by Pew Research Center & Aug survey by Gerstein Agne Total for US

Conclusions Millennial voters in the intermountain west remain more Republican than their counterparts elsewhere But they are significantly more liberal than older generations in the region Their political attitudes and values are not different from their counterparts elsewhere They appear to be slightly less politically engaged than Millennials elsewhere

Scott Keeter Pew Research Center Brookings West / UNLV October 8, 2010 Political Attitudes of the Millennial Generation in the Intermountain West