WASHINGTON — If the 2008 general election were held today, young people would strongly support the Democratic candidate over likely Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, according to a poll released today by Rock the Vote, a non-partisan group that encourages young people to vote.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had a healthy lead over McCain, beating the Arizona Republican 47 percent to 35 percent.  But Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., trounced McCain 57 percent to 27 percent in the survey of 518 Americans between the ages of 18 and 29.

Seventeen percent of the young voters surveyed listed the economy as their top voting concern, a pluarity. The war in Iraq (12 percent), health care (11 percent) and college affordability (10 percent) were also top issues.

Six out of 10 people said they relied on old-fashioned conversation to learn about candidates.  But new media also influenced young people’s decision-making, with 34 percent saying they rely on online videos and 24 percent looking to campaign Web sites.

The survey found that an overwhelming majority, 89 percent, believed they had the power to change their country, while 75 percent believed young people were having a bigger than usual impact on this election cycle.

Republican and Democratic polling firms collaborated on the survey, which had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.