Romney won the 18 year old vote by a large margin in 2012, and Romney also won the 19 year old vote and the 20 year old vote
Where do you find that polling?
Source
That's very interesting. There may indeed be something to the hypotheses discussed in that article.
There is also another explanation however. The general narrative after the economic crisis has been one of austerity, of the importance of controlling spending. This is a narrative that benefits conservatives. I see it in Denmark, where I am a high school teachers. The students I've had over the last few years have been far more conservative than they were before the financial crisis, where they tended to be decidedly left wing.
The crisis in the 30's was different, because the narrative back then focused on the importance of growth and jobs and poverty, not on controlling spending. A narrative that obviously benefits Democrats in America and social democrats in Europe.
Economics aside, I have to say that I believe the cultural war very significantly favours democrats amongst young people. Young people are more accepting of homosexuals, less inclined to hold racist views, less religious, etc than older voters. Now, these young people might not only be attracted to liberalism but also to libertarianism, which might explain why the faux liberatarian candidate Rand Paul would do so well with younger voters.
Either way, it will certainly be very interesting to see how young people vote in 2016 where the entire age group of 18-26 will have turned 18 under the Obama presidency.
