Clinton now faces struggle to win back younger voters

(AP) — Standing in a line of thousands outside an arena at Colorado State University, Aleksandr Cronk contemplated the grim possibility that the man he was waiting to see, Bernie Sanders, may not make it to the November ballot and he'd have to decide whether to vote for Hillary Clinton.

Like millions of young voters nationwide, Cronk has been electrified by Sanders' longshot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Even as Clinton has racked up a commanding lead in the contest, she's overwhelmingly losing voters between ages 18 and 29 in early-voting states.

"Hillary's weakness with millennials has to be very worrisome for the Democratic Party," said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, a center-left advocacy group.

In 2016, even more millennials than Baby Boomers are eligible to vote, and they make up a large share of potential voters in battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Iowa, demographers say.

Joelle Gamble of the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal New York think-tank, said young voters are increasingly distrustful of institutions like political parties.

Michelle Williams, 20, a natural resources student, didn't pay attention to politics until the hashtag #FeeltheBern began popping up in her social media feeds.

Cronk, on the other hand, was in elementary school when a Republican last won a presidential election and believes the increasing divide between the wealthy and everyone else demands dramatic action.