Leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties are pinning their hopes on a new generation of voters to carry them to victory and, according to a new study, they’re both out of luck. A Harvard poll found that the nation’s youngest voting bloc is both very engaged in political issues and seriously underwhelmed by their voting options.
“I’m not sure there is great news in here for either party,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, according to the Boston Herald. “For Democrats or Republicans, I don’t think there is a lot to be happy about quite honestly.”
The study polled adults under 30 in all 50 states about their feelings on whether or not they plan to vote and how they feel about President Joe Biden. The answer is, loosely: absolutely and not great.
Biden’s approval among Americans under 30 has fallen to about 41 percent in the last year — an 18 point drop. That said, they still believe in democracy and plan to vote, but “Democrats cannot think of young voters as a given this November,” a junior poll worker named Kate Gunderson said.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be voting Republican either. 21 percent of respondents said they identify as LGBTQ, and half of that group say they feel the country is hostile or unwelcome to people like them. They overwhelmingly favor government action on student debt and learning “about the history of racism in America” by a two-to-one margin.
The politics of younger generations don’t fit the molds available to them, and the first party to figure that out and adjust accordingly is likely to reap the rewards.
