Youth poll: Thumbs down on everything

• Asked which political party they trust more to bring down the cost of living, respondents' top choice was neither (36%) — over Democrats (26%) and Republicans (22%).

What they're saying: "They're kind of thumbs-down on everything — how the president's doing, how the economy's doing, both political parties," said Generation Lab CEO Cyrus Beschloss. "AI is a pretty big disruptor; it's easy to point to one faceless thing as the cause."

• Despite fears of AI stealing jobs, 71% said they're as comfortable or more comfortable with it than they were a year ago; 61% said they'd used ChatGPT in the past month, while 48% reported using Gemini and 20% Claude.

What we're watching: 96% are concerned about the cost of rent, groceries, gas or utilities, including 40% who are "extremely" concerned.

• 48% rate the national economy as "poor."
• 35% said if they were looking for a job today it would be "very difficult." Another 43% said it would be "somewhat difficult."
• More than half say home ownership is a top goal. But only about half think they'll own a home in the next decade, and 28% say it's very unlikely.

By the numbers: 66% disapprove of President Trump's handling of his job, 54% strongly.

• 64% disapprove of Trump's handling of the war with Iran, 50% strongly. Two-thirds believe the war has left the U.S. worse off than before.

Looking ahead to 2028 presidential election, name recognition appears to be a significant factor.

• Among Democratic respondents, former Vice President Kamala Harris led a field of prospective presidential candidates (28.7%), followed by former First Lady Michelle Obama (14.9%) and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (11.7%).
• Independents favored Michelle Obama (11.4%), AOC (9.2%) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (7.4%).
• Among Republican respondents, Vice President JD Vance was the clear leader (31.5%), followed by the president's son Donald Trump Jr. (10.7%) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (9.7%).

Zoom in: Last November, an Axios-Generation Lab poll found that 67% of two- and four-year college students had a positive or neutral association with the word "socialism" compared with just 40% with a positive or neutral view of "capitalism." We wrote then that this reflected college students' left lean as well as economic conditions.

• But this latest poll captures the broader sentiments of Americans under 35, including some long done with college and others with only high school degrees or no diploma — and the results weren't that different.
• 68% of respondents say they view socialism positively or neutrally, while 47% have positive or neutral views of capitalism. Negative views of capitalism outweigh negative views of socialism by more than 2 to 1.

"I don't think it's young people sitting around thinking about what economic models are most beneficial to society at large, or reading Plato's Republic and pondering economic theory," Beschloss said.

• "They may be thinking it's a radical way to shake things up, shake up the status quo — a way to give things to the working class, an anti-establishment thing, more than the clear workings of socialism."

Methodology: This poll was conducted July 29-Aug. 4, 2026, from a representative sample of 1,075 adults ages 18-34, including 244 with high school degrees or less, 457 with some college or an associate's degree and 374 with bachelor's degrees or higher.

• 37% of respondents identified as Democrats, 26% as Republicans and 29% as independents.
• The overall margin of error is +/- 3.01 percentage points.