Presidential candidates looking to get college students’ votes had better keep those Facebook accounts fresh.
According to a new survey, up to 46 percent of students rely on Facebook as their main source of news for the 2016 campaigns.
For most college students, this will be their first time at the presidential polls. Fluent, a Boston-based marketing firm aimed at millennials, surveyed 1,000 students across the country and found at least 84 percent of respondents plan to vote, mostly in their home states.
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Current college students are part of a powerful voting demographic: 22 to 23 million voters in the 2012 presidential election were age 30 and under, representing 19 percent of all voters, according to a turnout estimate out of Tufts University.
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About 22 percent of students said they relied on presidential debates for information about the presidential candidates' campaigns — another 25 percent said they make late-night TV their first stop.
At Wednesday night’s finance-focused Republican debate on CNBC, candidates John Kasich and Jeb Bush touched on their plans for making higher education more affordable. Hillary Clinton took out college-focused ads in Iowa and New Hampshire during the broadcast.