2024 Election: Democrats are losing their long-held edge among young voters, thanks in large part to Generation Z’s startling support for Donald Trump.
Polls over the last year suggest a tipping point as Trump has risen to near-parity with Joe Biden among Generation Z, but this trend has been going on for years.
Because Generation Z is more racially diverse than previous generations, Trump receives more support from voters under the age of 25 as well as black and Hispanic voters. Young voters are also regularly more inclined to be concerned about Biden’s age, the economy under his leadership, and his pro-Israel stance.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris study of more than 2,000 registered voters found that 57% approved of the Republican’s job as president, while 41% disagreed.
When the data is broken down further, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of voters in Generation Z—those aged 18 to 24—approve of Trump’s job as president. This demographic’s age range indicates that some respondents were children during Trump’s presidency, which lasted from 2017 to 2021.
Generation Z Love Trump
However, the results could serve as yet another danger sign for President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. According to Pew Research Center study, young voters played a critical role in Biden’s victory in 2020, with Generation Z and millennials supporting Biden over Trump by margins of roughly 20 points in record-breaking turnout.
According to the Harvard CAPS-Harris study, those aged 55 to 64 had the second-highest approval rating for Trump’s presidency (60 percent), followed by those aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 (both 58 percent).
Axios-Generation Lab issued a separate poll on Monday that showed Biden is only marginally ahead of Trump among Generation Z voters aged 18 to 34, with 52 percent selecting the president and 48 percent choosing Trump.
“We don’t know enough yet,” Neil O’Brian, a political scientist at the University of Oregon, told Axios. “But this concept that young people will continue to join the Democratic Party? There are various questions about that.”
Meanwhile, the Harvard CAPS-Harris survey reveals Donald Trump, the projected GOP presidential nominee in 2024, is leading Biden despite the Republican’s multiple legal concerns.
According to the poll, Trump leads Biden by six points (48 percent to 42 percent) in a head-to-head race, and by seven points (42 percent to 35 percent) when independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is introduced, who has 15% support.
Trump also leads Biden by nine points (42 percent to 33 percent) when independent candidate Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are included in a five-person presidential shortlist.
Trumps Manhattan Trial Politically Motivated
Despite the fact that a majority of registered voters (56 percent) believe Trump committed a crime, the former president leads Biden in surveys. According to the study, 54% of Americans believe the criminal investigations into Trump are politically motivated, a charge the former president has repeatedly made.
Trump has pled not guilty to 91 criminal charges. His first trial, in which he is accused of fabricating business records, is scheduled to begin in New York in March.
According to the study, more than half (54 percent) of Americans believe Trump engaged in an insurrection against the US government while in office. Trump has pleaded not guilty to four federal counts stemming from the events surrounding the January 6 attack and his alleged unlawful attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
The Supreme Court is also expected to rule on whether Trump can be removed from this year’s election ballots for violating Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states that anyone who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath of office to support the Constitution should be barred from running again.
