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Trump and Republicans Are Losing Young Evangelicals’ Support

Trump and Republicans Are Losing Young Evangelicals’ Support

Republicans may not have young evangelicals backing them up in the 2024 election, according to a new study.

In 2016, Donald Trump secured a victory over Hillary Clinton with major help from white evangelicals — in fact, according to Pew Research, around 77 percent voted for Donald Trump. But just a few years later, evangelicals ages 18-25 are not as likely as older generations to be influenced by Republicans.

Neighborly Faith, a student movement that introduces Christianity to young people of other religions, polled Gen Z voters about their view on the 2024 election, and it became clear that the “red wave” of victories Republicans have been hoping for would likely not be coming from young evangelical voters.

“Young evangelicals were almost certainly a contributor to the so-called ‘red wave’ becoming more like a ripple,” Kevin Singer, co-director of Neighborly Faith, told Newsweek. “Though they have more conservative political leanings than their peers, they are also more progressive than older evangelical voting blocs that Republican candidates have come to rely on.”

Neighborly Faith’s survey found evidence that young, white evangelicals have been slowly drifting to the left for a number of years. It leaves the GOP’s future in an unsure balance. Even though evangelical elders remain steadfastly conservative, there’s a likely chance that things will change drastically in the coming years.

This doesn’t mean young evangelicals are fully swinging to the Democratic Party, either. Forty-six percent said they trusted Trump when he was president, and only 33 percent say they trust Biden now. What it does show is that both parties have some serious work to do if they want young evangelicals on their side.

“The data is close enough. Young evangelicals are a lot less beholden to one institution over the other,” Singer said. “They are teetering, and if this lasts, it could result in evangelicals no longer being a reliable voting bloc for Republicans and change many future election outcomes.”

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