America's youngest voters turn right
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A new trend has emerged in American politics: The very youngest voters — 18-to-24-year-olds — say they're more conservative than the cohort that's just older, according to the latest Harvard Youth Poll.
Why it matters: This new trend — which is true for both genders and emerged only in the last few years — is especially pronounced with men.
- The younger generation of men is more likely to identify as conservative than as liberal, a stunning flip.
Zoom in: It's rare for a group of Americans that young to be more conservative than their immediate predecessors.
- 26% of men ages 18-24 say they identify as conservative — five points higher than 25-to-29-year-old men.
- Among women, the younger group is more conservative by three points.
- Moderates make up the biggest chunk of both men and women young voters.
Between the lines: They were hardest hit by COVID-19 and felt ignored by the establishment, John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, told Axios this month.
- The youngest members of that group were just 10 years old when Trump was elected president and see this chaotic political era as normal.
- "They think of Trump as an anti-hero and not a villain. ... I think it's less about policy and much more about personality," Della Volpe said.
Reality check: The youngest age group still appears to favor liberal positions on some issues as much as those ages 25 to 29, Anil Cacodcar, the student chair of the Harvard Youth Poll, noted.
- In a poll earlier this year, the younger group was just as likely to say basic health insurance is a human right and government should spend more to reduce poverty.
