Who will grab the millennial vote?

A new political generation has arrived in town: the millennials.

Democrats and Republicans are struggling to make sense of who they are. Both parties are eager to appeal to this generational cohort, aged roughly 18 to 34. Millennials will be an important voting bloc in swing states in the 2016 presidential election, as they were in 2008 and 2012.

In the 2012 election, millennials played a significant role determining the vote in states such as Florida and Ohio. According to ThinkProgress, millennials, who overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in the past two elections, could reach almost 36% of the eligible voting pool.

Republicans are hoping to break this pattern, given the frustration this generation has expressed toward Washington and President Barack Obama in recent months.

The party that figures out how to tap millennials’ energy, and overcome the challenges of reaching them, can bring a huge and powerful group of Americans into their coalition.

Read CNNOpinion’s new Flipboard magazine.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.

CNN