Majority of young voters want to see an independent candidate on the ballot, new poll finds

Young voters really want to see a third-party candidate on the ballot this November. A new poll out Wednesday by Florida Republican consulting firm Data Targeting reveals that a "shocking 91 percent of voters under the age of 29 favor having an independent candidate on the ballot."
The support for an independent candidate is not quite so strong among the total voting population, but it's still there. The survey of 979 national voters found that 55 percent favor having an independent in the running for 2016. In a hypothetical matchup between Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and a generic third-party candidate, Trump snagged 34 percent of the vote, while Clinton got 31 percent, and the third-party candidate got 21 percent.
The poll suggests that the interest in an independent candidate is largely being driven by Trump and Clinton's "historically high negatives." A total of 58 percent of respondents reported being unhappy with the current options on the ballot.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"There is a viable path to the victory for a credible independent candidate," conservative columnist Bill Kristol, who is calling for a third-party candidate, tweeted after the poll came out. "Not easy, but doable."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Selling sex: why investors are wary of OnlyFans despite record profits
In The Spotlight The platform that revolutionised pornography is for sale – but its value is limited unless it can diversify
-
Garsington Opera opens its summer festival with two 'very different productions'
The Week Recommends A 'fabulous' new staging of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and Donizetti's fake-love-potion comedy L'elisir d'amore
-
The Rehearsal series two: Nathan Fielder's docu-comedy is 'laugh-out-loud funny'
The Week Recommends Television's 'great illusionist' has turned his attention to commercial airline safety
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read