We have been following the election preferences of Americans under 30 closely.  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been quickly closing the gap with President Obama among the young voters.

And while our College Insurrection fans are not “low information voters” themselves, Business Insider notes that the endorsement of Romney by troubled celebrity actress Linday Lohan is a big deal because it means Romney’s message is resonating with everyone — especially young people worried about unemployment.

Lindsay Lohan came out in support of Mitt Romney yesterday.

While most would, at first glance, write this off as gossip, it’s the latest instance of an evolving trend that jeopardizes President Obama’s chance at winning the White House.

Lohan, by all accounts, is a typical low-information voter. And low information voters, like it or not, will decide this election.

The first person to pick out this trend was Dave Weigel at Slate after sportswriter Buzz Bissinger endorsed Romney after his positive debate performance. Bissinger, Weigel notes, was a low information voter. He ignored the election, watched the debate, took everyone’s word for it on the facts, and backed Romney.

As Weigel notes, it’s not like either side was falling over themselves to score the lusted-after and enviable Bissinger endorsement.

But Bissinger is emblematic of millions of Americans. These people don’t follow politics, don’t understand the issues with depth, and plan to vote based on what little information they’ve gleaned.

Adult film actress Jenna Jameson has backed Romney because “when you’re rich, you want a Republican in office.” Wrestler Hulk Hogan has backed Romney because he wants someone to ”just take the lead and run.”

Lohan said that the reason she was voting Romney was “employment.” From The Blaze:

“I just think employment is really important right now,” the troubled star told E!, while at Mr. Pink’s Ginseng Drink event in Beverly Hills, California, on Thursday. “So, as of now, Mitt Romney. As of now.”

Here’s why the Obama campaign should be worried.

Lohan is a low information voter convinced that (a) employment is really important, (b) thinks that employment is not being sufficiently handled by the White House right now and (c) thinks that Mitt Romney is better equipped to handle employment.

That arguably logical sequence is all that it takes for a low-information voter to support Mitt Romney. The thing is, there are millions of voters like her. That should terrify the Obama campaign.


 
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