Obama to rally young voters in California

President Obama will look to rally millennials to the ballot box during an economic speech and town-hall meeting at a Santa Monica, Calif., technology hub on Thursday.

The president, who has looked in recent days to refocus attention on his economic record ahead of November’s midterm elections, will highlight administration initiatives on student loan debt, technology investment and healthcare that have aided young voters crucial to the Democratic base. He’ll also call on Congress to fund a number of programs — including expanding access to mortgages and paid maternity leave — the White House believes would assist the millennial generation.

{mosads}The president’s Council of Economic Advisers will also release a new report that highlights the impact the White House’s policies have had on those born after 1980.

“Many Millennials came of age during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, but thanks to the hard work of the American people and the policies the President has pursued, we’ve laid a new economic foundation and the United States has come back faster and farther than almost any other nation on Earth,” a White House official said.

Young voters are historically among the least likely to turn out during the midterm elections, but represent a crucial part of the Democratic base.

In an Economist/YouGov poll released late last month, 48 percent of respondents ages 18-29 said they approved of the president, with 42 percent disapproving. That was the best of any cohort; 52 percent of those ages 30-44, 59 percent of those ages 45-64, and 62 percent of those over 65 years of age disapproved of Obama’s tenure.

The president kicked off his economic push last week with a speech at Northwestern University, where he said young adults “will shape America’s economy and set the conditions for middle-class growth in the 21st century.”