Half of Gen Z has "very little" trust in the presidency: poll
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Just over half of Gen Z has "very little" trust in the presidency, per new Gallup-Walton Family Foundation polling data.
Why it matters: The campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump are both vying for the vote of a bloc largely skeptical of the three branches of government.
- "This thing is going to be close," Harris' running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a Tuesday speech to the youth caucus at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- "It is going to be closer than it should be, it's going to be won in the trenches. It's going to be won by your demographic, for the most part, if we can turn you out and get you to vote."
By the numbers: 51% of surveyed 12- to 27-year-olds said they have very little trust in the presidency — a 4 percentage point increase from 2023.
- 14% said they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of trust in the office.
Zoom out: Distrust of Congress and the Supreme Court is also high among those surveyed.
- 53% of respondents said they have "very little" trust in Congress, and 44% said the same of the Supreme Court.
Between the lines: The Gallup survey was conducted in April and May, before Harris announced her candidacy.
- Early into her campaign, Harris was significantly more popular among America's youngest voters than President Biden.
- Previously, Trump had appeared to make inroads with traditionally blue young voters.
The latest: Harris is beating Trump by 32 points among 18- to 29-year-olds living in seven battleground states as of Tuesday, according to polling from Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led nonprofit.
- Two-thirds of VOT poll respondents said they are very likely or certain to vote in November's election.
The intrigue: Voting-age members of Gen Z have less trust in most institutions than middle- and high school-aged members of the group, Gallup researcher Zach Hrynowski said.
Methodology: A Gallup Panel web survey was conducted April 26 to May 9 with a sample of 4,157 12- to 27-year-olds living in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
- The margin of sampling error is ± 2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for the total sample.
The Voters of Tomorrow study was conducted August 16-20 from a sample of 1,601 people aged 18-29 in AZ, GA, PA, MI, NC, NV, and WI. The margin of sampling error is ±2.4%
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