Millennials in Massachusetts Propel Elizabeth Warren to Victory

Elizabeth Warren is something of a youth icon, an odd thing for a grandmother who used to teach at Harvard. Yet with her appearances on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" and her viral YouTube video, she excited young Americans with her fierce, plain-spoken advocacy for economic equality and robust social welfare. She has been known to literally have screaming fan girls.

And on Election Day, she captured 61 percent of the youth vote, crushing her challenger, Scott Brown, in that demographic. Given that youth turnout was particularly low in the special election that Scott Brown won in 2010, and given the high youth turnout overall this year, it's hard to argue that young people didn't play a key role in Senator-elect Warren's victory.

"[Warren's campaign] really engaged the local colleges," said Greater Boston Young Democrats chair Tina Stanton, who was an active volunteer for the Warren campaign.

Warren had a dedicated college staffer and college coordinators on campuses all over Massachusetts. And, Stanton said, most of Warren's field staffers were young Democrats.

The Warren campaign may have also benefited from other factors, including a massive voter registration and poll-checking effort by Democrats.

"Young Democrats of Massachusetts is far more active than the Massachusetts Young Republicans, especially here in Boston," Stanton said. "The candidacy of Joe Kennedy III also brought out large numbers of active and brand new young liberals and Democrats."

Kennedy, who won the seat left vacant by the retiring Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), gave young people credit for helping him clinch victory.

And in her victory speech, Warren pledged to return the favor to young voters.

Emily Crockett is a reporter with Campus Progress. Follow her on Twitter @emilycrockett.

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