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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 in the Intermountain West Pew Research Center surveys

5. Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 in the Intermountain West Pew Research Center surveys

6. Republican Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 Pew Research Center surveys

7. Republican Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 Pew Research Center surveys

8. Democratic Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 Pew Research Center surveys

9. Democratic Party Affiliation and Leaning for Ages 18-29 Pew Research Center surveys

10. Self-Identified Ideology: Conservative 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

11. Self-Identified Ideology: Liberal 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

12. Obama Vote 2008 NEP exit poll

13. 2010 Obama Approval 2010 Pew Research Center surveys

14. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, COMMITMENT AND MORAL VALUES Pew Research Center surveys

15. Religious Affiliation: Atheist, Agnostic, Nothing in Particular 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

16. Religious Affiliation: White Evangelical Protestant 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

17. Attendance at Religious Services: Weekly or More Often 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

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

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

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

21. OTHER ISSUES AND VALUES Pew Research Center surveys

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

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

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

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

26. POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT Pew Research Center & US Census surveys

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

28. 2008 Voter Turnout by State US Census surveys compiled by CIRCLE

29. Registered to Vote 2009-2010 surveys by Pew Research Center

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

31. Things in the Country are Going in the Right Direction Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

32. Arizona’s Immigration Law “Goes Too Far” Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

33. Same-Sex Marriage Should be Recognized by the Law as Valid Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

34. Political Values on Which Millennials Are Similar to Others TotalAges 18-29 2 nd Amendments rights are threatened 6465 Government programs for the poor undermine individual responsibility 6062 Gone too far mixing religion & politics 5859 Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

35. Political Values on Which Millennials Are Slightly More Liberal TotalAges 18-29 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. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

36. Political Values on Which Millennials Are Significantly More Liberal TotalAges 18-29 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. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

37. Millennials Favor More Federal Government Involvement TotalAges 18-29 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. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

38. …But Not on Every Issue TotalAges 18-29 Cracking down on crime and drugs 5962 Stopping the flow of illegal immigrants 7464 Dealing with millions of illegal immigrants already here 7060 Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne

39. Vote for House of Representatives Sept. 2010 survey by Pew Research Center & Aug. 2010 survey by Gerstein Agne Total for US

40. 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

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