Thousands of Iowa's youth voted in a presidential straw poll — and the results are surprising

A Nov. 1 straw poll was conducted with students from schools participating from all across Iowa, according to a press release by the Office of the Iowa Secretary of State, and the results were rather surprising, given the age of the participants.

More than 57,000 students from more than 300 schools took part in the poll, and as it turns out, the majority would rather see Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in office over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The lead for Trump was substantial. Trump bested Clinton by 10 points, with each candidate earning 46 percent and 36 percent respectively. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson came in last with only 7 percent.

“I think it was a great opportunity for them to see first-hand how the process works. It also gives them a running start for the next election cycle and also receive a little tutoring at the same time, so they’ll have a good base of knowledge for Iowa’s elections process,” Paul Pate, Iowa's secretary of state, said. “I hope this fired them up and will also spur them to encourage their parents, neighbors and friends to get out and vote.”

These results are surprising, as millenials are typically given to voting for leftist candidates. However, this election has delivered more than its fair share of surprises.

As far as national polls go, Trump has narrowed the gap in recent days. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Clinton is leading with 47.5 percent of the vote followed closely by Trump with 45.3 percent.