Although Vice President Kamala Harris won the youth vote in this election, President-elect Donald Trump made major gains among young voters aged 18 to 29.
Data from the Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, known as CIRCLE, shows 46% of young people voted for Trump, up from 36% in 2020. Harris took 52% of the youth vote.
These gains were largely driven by a gender and race gap, and issues such as the economy, according to the data shared via a press briefing on Thursday.
When it comes to gender, 56% of men voted for Trump while 58% of women voted for Harris. White voters and Latino men were the largest drivers of Trump votes while Black and Asian women took up the largest share of Harris voters.
“This is the first time young men as a whole group, not just white men, in aggregate chose president-elect Trump by majority,” said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of CIRCLE.
Kawashima-Ginsberg said young voters are issues-driven voters, and that bore out in the data with 40% saying the economy was their top issue. The second most important issue was abortion, with just 13% of young voters saying it was number one.
Those who prioritized immigration, the economy and crime favored Trump, while those who cared about climate change, abortion, racism, health care and gun policy favored Harris.
“Young people really are issue voters and this is the generation, particularly Gen Z is the generation, that has been struggling the most in recent generations with their own kind of footing in the economy.” Kawashima-Ginsberg said.
Considering the issue-based voting trends among young people, Kawashima-Ginsberg noted that the shift towards Trump may not be predictive of future elections.
Alberto Medina, communications lead for CIRCLE, also commented on the impact that events such as mass shootings, the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the murder of George Floyd and more can have on the youth vote.
“Because young people are still having these formative experiences … there’s always these other dynamics that can shift trends and drive trends further in one direction,” Medina said.
Trump won the youth vote in 17 states this election, compared to just seven states in 2020. Massachusetts was not one of those states, marking little change in its deep blue youth vote in 2020.
Youth voter turnout was down from 2020, when upwards of 55% of young people voted. This election was similar to 2016, with early estimates showing about 43% of youth having voted in this election.
Produced with assistance from the
Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
