Exclusive poll: Young people are nervous about 2024 election
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
"Nervous" and "scared" — by a longshot — are the most common feelings young people have about the election, according to a poll from American University's Sine Institute and Generation Lab shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Young voters are a key voting bloc for Vice President Harris' campaign, and she's relying on young women in particular to turn out.
- Former President Trump, meanwhile, is going after the "bro" vote and courting young men without college degrees.
Zoom in: 32% of Americans ages 18-34 reported feeling both nervous and scared about the upcoming election, according to the poll.
- A majority of those polled ranked the economy, including the cost of living, as a key issue in how they'll decide who to vote for in the upcoming election.
By the numbers: Among the registered voters who were polled, 55% said they'd vote for Harris and 24% said they'd vote for Trump. Another 11% opted for a third party.
- Meanwhile, 10% remained undecided but a majority said they'd cast a ballot for Harris if they had to choose.
Flashback: In this poll, Harris just about matches Hillary Clinton's 2016 numbers and President Biden's 2020 figures among young voters, while Trump lags behind his numbers from the past two elections.
- In 2016, Clinton topped Trump 58-28 among voters 18-29, and in 2020 Biden topped Trump 59-35 among voters 18-29, according to Pew.
Details: 1,214 online interviews with adults ages 18-34 (including oversamples of Black, Hispanic and LBGTQ+ adults) were conducted July 29-August 9.
- The Sine Institute did not conduct the same poll in 2016 and 2020.
