A recent Axios + Generation Lab Youth poll revealed that Donald Trump is gaining ground on Joe Biden among young voters. In the survey of 1,073 U.S. adults aged 18 to 34, 48 percent expressed support for Trump, while 52 nipercent favored Biden “if the election were held today.” This shift in support may indicate a decline in Biden’s popularity with younger voters, considering that Gen Z and millennial voters favored him by 20 points in the 2020 presidential election, as reported by the Pew Research Center.
“We don’t know enough yet,” Neil O’Brian, a political scientist at the University of Oregon, told Axios. “But this idea that young people are going to keep populating into the Democratic Party? There are some question marks around that.”
Biden maintains a more robust lead among those who are certain to vote. Among the 42 percent of young respondents who are committed to voting in November, 63 percent express support for Biden.
Trump’s apparent surge in popularity with younger voters aligns with the survey’s finding that the economy is their top concern leading up to the election. Thirty-nine percent of young participants prioritize the economy, followed by abortion at 16 percent, and student debt and immigration, both at 11 percent. Ten percent of young voters prioritize climate change, followed by guns at 7 percent.
The latest poll is consistent with several others that indicate Trump’s narrow lead over Biden among young voters. In December, a New York Times/Siena poll revealed a six-point advantage for Trump among voters under 30. Similarly, an NBC News poll from November showed Trump leading Biden by four points among voters under 35.
The Axios + Generation Lab Youth poll was conducted from February 3 to 14 and has a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.
