Young Americans’ Views of the Presidential Election
October 21, 2024 by
In this final post of a three-part series, we continue exploring the results of the “Reimagining Political Leadership: The Outlook of Young Americans” survey focused on the political attitudes of Americans aged 18-34. The survey was designed by the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University in partnership with Future Caucus and the Close Up Foundation, and based on interviews conducted by the Generation Lab, a data intelligence company that gathers and interprets the views and behavior of young adults. In this post, we examine the views of young Americans as they relate to the 2024 presidential election.
READ: All About the Survey
The survey’s key findings relating to the 2024 election and the presidential candidates include the following:
- Only about half (49 percent) of young Americans describe themselves as very likely or certain to vote (eight or higher on a ten-point scale).
- The most common descriptors of their mood heading into November are “nervous and scared” followed by “hopeful and optimistic.”
- Vice President Kamala Harris has a large, double-digit lead over former President Donald Trump in both the multi-candidate and head-to-head trial heat. Vice President Harris’ advantage with young Americans is rooted in substantive evaluations; she is viewed as better than former President Trump on all eight qualities that we tested.
- Young Americans have a broad and substantive voting agenda, but it tracks all Americans in centering primarily around the economy and the cost of living.
- While voting is only one of many behaviors that young Americans see as critical to a maintaining a functioning democracy, emphasizing the importance of making their voices count and having a say in their future are most persuasive.
The findings also show that young Americans have more negative emotional responses to the election, with half of respondents saying that they are feeling either “nervous and scared” or “dissatisfied and disappointed.” These responses can be partially explained by the findings that majorities of young Americans agree with statements such as:
- There often are not candidates running who I am excited to support (72 percent agree).
- It’s hard to get information that is trustworthy and reliable about the candidates and their issue positions (69 percent agree).
- It’s hard to get information that is relevant to me about the candidates’ positions on issues I care about (57 percent agree).
Finally, the poll found that young people support Vice President Harris by a 2-to-1 margin over former President Trump in a head-to-head poll.
Discussion Questions
- How do the views reflected here compare with your views?
- If you had to choose one word to reflect how you are feeling about the upcoming election, what would it be?
- If you were able to survey young Americans, what would you want to know?
Previous Posts About the Survey Data
As always, we encourage you to join the discussion with your comments or questions below.
Close Up is proud to be the nation’s leading nonprofit civic education organization, working with schools and districts across the country since 1971. If you would like to partner with us or learn more about our experiential learning programs, professional development, or curriculum design and consulting, contact us today!
Sources
Featured Image Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
