Obama in Tampa: Fewer young voters supporting him | News

Tampa, Florida -- The chants of "yes we can!" were only four years ago.

All the celebrity endorsement helped cement Barack Obama's rockstar status among young voters.

But in 2012, Orane Ewan, a student at Hillsborough County Community College, the place Obama held a rally on Friday, says he's not nearly as interested as he was in 2008.

Photo Gallery: Obama comes to HCC Tampa

"Everybody was so excited for a change," he said, "it's probably the attitude of not caring.  Everybody's just fed up."

In 2008, 66% of voters 18 to 24 chose Obama.

This time around, recent polls put that support around 53%.

"I haven't really felt like the candidates actually target the young voters," said Katora Mobley, who will be eligible to vote for the first time in November.

Mark Ferrulo, with Progress Florida, a liberal non-profit, points out Obama is no longer the hip, trendy candidate just bursting onto the scene for the first time.

"He's a politician. Politicians and the youth vote often don't mesh very well. Young people like the newest, exciting thing. So that is the challenge," he explained.

Of about 1,500 tickets handed out by the Obama campaign for Friday's rally, only 45 went to HCC students.

Analysts expect Obama will get more support from young voters than Romney, but the key will be how many actually show up and vote for him on election day.