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Divided America: Diverse millennials are no voting monolith

America's oldest millennials - nearing 20 when airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center - can remember the economic prosperity of the 1990s, and when a different Clinton ran for president. The younger end of the generation - now nearing 20 - can't recall a time without terrorism or economic worry.

Now millennials have edged out baby boomers as the largest living generation in U.S. history, and more than 75 million have come of age. With less than three months to Election Day, the values of young Americans are an unpredictable grab bag. What they share is a palpable sense of disillusionment.

As part of its Divided America series, The Associated Press interviewed seven millennial voters in five states where the generation could have an outsized influence this fall. They are a mosaic, from a black Nevada teen voting for the first time to a Florida-born son of Latino immigrants to a white Christian couple in Ohio.

These voters illustrate how millennials are challenging pollsters' expectations.

"Millennials have been described as apathetic, but they're absolutely not," said Diana Downard, a 26-year-old voting for Hillary Clinton. "Millennials have a very nuanced understanding of the political world."

Just 5 percent of young adults say that America is "greater than it has ever been," according to a recent GenForward poll. The first-of-its kind survey of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 was conducted by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Brianna Lawrence, a 21-year-old videographer and eyelash artist from the South, wants America to return to what it was. A recent North Carolina Central University graduate, she's voting for Clinton. She was just 7 on Sept. 11 and the aftermath of the attacks is the only time she remembers the nation feeling united.

"My biggest hope for this country is for us to come back together as a community," she said.

That's hard when people like her begin adulthood thousands of dollars in debt. Economic issues are huge with this group, since many are saddled with student loans and struggle to find jobs.

Only 8 percent of millennials feel their household's financial situation is "very good," according to GenForward's poll.

Brien Tillett, who recently graduated from a Las Vegas high school, is 18. He was only 10 when the recession hit. His single mother was hospitalized for months after a car accident and, with no safety net, the family struggled.

National debt is his top concern. As a black man, he's turned off by some of Donald Trump's remarks, but likes the Republican's aggressive economic stance. He also considered voting for Clinton, but is angry about her use of a private email server while Secretary of State. Unsure at first, he recently decided on Clinton.

Anibal David Cabrera wouldn't think of voting outside his party.

The son of a Honduran mother and Dominican father, he graduated from college in 2008. He was a finance major, but the economic collapse dried up jobs. Now 31 and living in Tampa, Florida, he finally found an accounting position at a small firm. He feels he's entering the prime of his life a few steps behind, through no fault of his own.

He's backing Trump and prays the candidate keeps promises and boosts the economy. "That is something my generation has kind of never seen," he said.

Shared pain doesn't lead to shared views.

Millennials' disdain for traditional party affiliation means that half describe themselves as independents, according to a 2014 Pew Research report - a near-record level of political disaffiliation. They tend to be liberal on social questions such as gay marriage, abortion and marijuana legalization. Yet they skew slightly conservative on fiscal policy and are more in line with other generations on gun control and foreign affairs.

Trip Nistico, a recent Colorado law school graduate, is a gun rights advocate who visits shooting ranges - but also supports in same-sex marriage. He backed President Barack Obama in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. The 26-year-old is voting for Trump this year.

Still, Trump remains unpopular among millennials and nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 believe the Republican nominee is racist, according to GenForward's poll. Views of Hillary Clinton also were unfavorable, though not to the same extent.

Bill and Kristi Clay, parents of two young boys and devout Christians from rural Ohio, have struggled to pick a candidate who matches their values.

Kristi Clay opposes same-sex marriage and abortion and names those as her top issues. Yet the 32-year-old school librarian reluctantly leans toward Clinton, because she feels Trump is materialistic and prefers the Democratic views on immigration and poverty.

Though she and her 33-year-old husband are feeling "pessimistic" about this election, both say they will vote anyway.

Whether their millennial brethren do the same is unknown. Some are disenchanted that progressive Bernie Sanders, who ran against Clinton in the Democratic primary, is out of the race.

The millennial vote rose steadily beginning in 2002 and peaked in 2008. In 2012, however, just 45 percent of millennials cast ballots and participation has leveled off or dropped since, said John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

"They have a somewhat different perspective in terms of politics," he said. "It hasn't really worked. They haven't been part of a movement that's been effective."

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AP journalists Gillian Flaccus reported from Colorado, Nevada and Oregon; Tamara Lush from Florida and North Carolina; and Martha Irvine from Ohio.

Diana Downard, a Bernie Sanders supporter who now says she will vote for Hillary Clinton, meets with friends in Denver on July 6, 2016. Downard, who is 26, works at a nonpartisan organization in Denver that works to increase civic engagement and voter registration among young people. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Associated Press
Diana Downard, a Bernie Sanders supporter who now says she will vote for Hillary Clinton, runs in a park in Denver on July 7, 2016. "We went to college in pursuit of a better life and really, now, we're kind of just paralyzed by our student debt," she says. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Associated Press
Pictures of children sponsored by Bill Clay, second left, and his wife, Kristi, are displayed on their refrigerator as they prepare breakfast for their children, Ami, left, and Xavier at their home in Ashville, Ohio, on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Kristi Clay opposes same-sex marriage and abortion and names those as her top issues. Yet the 32-year-old school librarian reluctantly leans toward Clinton, because she feels Trump is materialistic and prefers the Democratic views on immigration and poverty. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) The Associated Press
Kristi Clay, left, and her husband, Bill, second from right, pray before a meal with their sons, Ami, second from left, and Xavier, at their home in Ashville, Ohio., on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Their strong Christian faith has not helped him find much inspiration in the current presidential candidates, both of whom Bill sees as self-serving and unwilling to budge on important issues. Although they both plan to vote, he says, "I'm feeling a little pessimistic this year." (AP Photo/John Minchillo) The Associated Press
Bill Clay, left, and his wife, Kristi, right, prepare to leave for church from their home in Ashville, Ohio, on Saturday, July 9, 2016. "If we're going to try to be Christian-like, and embrace people, I don't think you can shut the borders to an entire group of people just because of the fear that some of them don't like us," says Bill, who voted for Barack Obama in the last two elections but supported Republican Marco Rubio this time. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) The Associated Press
Anibal David Cabrera, 31, stands in front of a mural in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Ybor City was founded in the 1880's by cigar manufacturers and was a melting pot for immigrants. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) The Associated Press
Anibal David Cabrera, 31, is photographed during an interview in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. He graduated from college in 2008 as the recession was picking up steam. A finance major, he wanted to work for a hedge fund or bank, but the economic collapse meant jobs had dried up. Eventually Cabrera got an accounting job at a small tech firm. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) The Associated Press
Anibal David Cabrera, 31, takes a selfie photo during an interview in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. He's backing Trump and prays the candidate keeps promises and boosts the economy. "That is something my generation has kind of never seen." (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) The Associated Press
Brianna Lawrence, 21, adjusts a camera in a studio at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., on Thursday, July 14, 2016. She was just 7 on Sept. 11, 2001 and the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks is the only time she can remember the nation feeling united, even if only by grief. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) The Associated Press
Brianna Lawrence, 21, works on her lighting skills in a photo and video studio at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., on Thursday, July 14, 2016. With $40,000 in student debt, she's working hard to establish her own cosmetic business after graduating. She plans to vote for Hillary Clinton, but feels America has lost its way. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) The Associated Press
Brianna Lawrence poses for a photo in a studio at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., on Thursday, July 14, 2016. "My biggest hope for this country is for us to come back together as a community. As a United States of America, to unite together again," she says. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) The Associated Press
Recent law school graduate and Donald Trump supporter Trip Nistico, 26, hikes in the hills above Boulder, Colo., on July 5, 2016. He is an avid supporter of gun rights who goes to shooting ranges but also supports same-sex marriage. The Texas native voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 _ his first presidential election _ and Mitt Romney in 2012. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Associated Press
Recent law school graduate Trip Nistico, 26, walks through his apartment in Boulder, Colo., on July 6, 2016. "I'm pretty liberal on social issues. I don't really think that _ on a national level _ they're really as important as some of these other issues we've been discussing," he says. He says he's supporting Donald Trump because his preferred candidate, the Libertarian Party's Gary Johnson, isn't likely to crack the polls. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Associated Press
Recent law school graduate and Donald Trump supporter Trip Nistico, 26, right, scales a rock with his friend, Adam Agostini, in the hills above Boulder, Colo., on July 5, 2016. Millennial voters' disdain for traditional party affiliation have made them particularly unpredictable. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) The Associated Press
Brien Tillett sits a park in North Las Vegas on July 12, 2016. Now 18, he was 10 when the recession hit and sucked the wind out of his family. In the 2016 election, the national debt is his No. 1 concern. As a black man, he's turned off by some of Donald Trump's remarks, but likes the Republican's aggressive economic stance. He's considered voting for Hillary Clinton, but is angry about her use of a private email server while Secretary of State. Undecided at first, he recently decided on Clinton. (AP Photo/John Locher) The Associated Press
Brien Tillett takes part in a Zumba fitness demonstration while working at a health fair in Las Vegas on July 9, 2016. Tillett exudes youthful idealism as he talks about casting his first vote in a presidential election. "It means a lot to me personally because I'm making a difference in my life and in the country. My vote does matter," he said. "It really does." (AP Photo/John Locher) The Associated Press
Brien Tillett runs in a park in North Las Vegas on July 12, 2016. A cross country standout, he plans to run on the team when he enrolls in community college in northern California in August. Millennials have edged out baby boomers as the largest living generation in U.S. history, and more than 75 million have come of age. With less than three months to Election Day, the values of young Americans are an unpredictable grab bag. (AP Photo/John Locher) The Associated Press
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