Republicans are gaining ground among millennial voters on economic issues

Democrats are losing support among millennial voters, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Monday, with the 2018 midterm elections half a year away. Only 46 percent of voters aged 18 to 34 now say they prefer a Democrat over a Republican for Congress, down from 55 percent this time in 2016. Among white millennials specifically, just 39 percent prefer a Democratic candidate.

The Republican Party has not seen a wide influx of youth support — a mere 28 percent of respondents said they intend to vote GOP, an increase of a single point since 2016 — but millennials tend to lack strong party identification and are increasingly favorable to Republican economic policies, Reuters reports. They are now almost evenly divided as to which party "has a better plan for the economy." In 2016, Democrats' economic agenda was favored by a 12-point margin.

"It sounds strange to me to say this about the Republicans, but they're helping with even the small things," said Terry Hood, 34, a Louisiana voter who backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. "They're taking less taxes out of my paycheck. I notice that."

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