With the 2024 election set to have a major impact on the future of the nation, many candidates are looking to younger generations for support, as Gen Z could decide who is sworn in as president next January.
As things sit, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump appear to be the top candidates for Republicans and Democrats.
In a hypothetical rematch between the two men, Trump is leading in most polls, but an Axios-Generation Lab survey from last month found that things may not be the same among those under 35.
The Axios survey found that among younger Americans, Biden is leading Trump in a rematch, 52% to 48%.
The survey also noted that a vast majority of younger Americans are planning to vote this November, with 70% sharing that it was their intention to cast a ballot.
However, not every poll has found similar results, as a Florida Atlantic University PolCom and Mainstreet Research happiness poll released this week found that a majority of younger Americans, those aged 18 to 34, were not happy with their lives, which could affect how they vote.
“Roughly 56% of younger respondents 18 to 34 (millennials and Generation Z) indicated that they were ‘dissatisfied’ with their lives, and only 21% of this age group indicated that they were ‘extremely satisfied’ or ‘satisfied.’ According to the poll, 49% voted Democrat in the 2020 presidential election, and 42% voted Republican,” according to the university.
However, the Florida Atlantic poll seemed to show this trend reversing, as the poll found that 54% of likely millennial and Gen Z voters would cast their ballot for Trump, while only 37% said they would vote for Biden.
Bishop Mills, Ph.D., FAU’s communication professor, PolCom co-director, and expert in relational communication, shared with CBS News that this feeling of unhappiness is huge when it comes to voter sentiment.
“This finding is important. Generally, young adults through the early 30s have high levels of happiness, bolstered by optimism, new experiences, and independence. Then, happiness dips for mid-life periods and rebounds with the highest levels in adults over 50,” Mills said. “Young people with high levels of unhappiness is noteworthy - and so is the level of satisfaction among older voters. We have seen a rise in depression, anxiety, and mental health issues in the younger population, and it is important to take these concerns seriously.”
Both Biden and Trump have been making efforts to appeal to their younger voters. Most recently, Biden joined the social media platform TikTok to share more relaxed videos from his campaign account, as TikTok is restricted on federal devices.
The move from Biden appears to be a page out of Trump’s book, as the former president helped grow his base by his use of social media, primarily the site then known as Twitter.
However it shakes out, America’s youngest voters will have to choose between the two oldest candidates, and whoever they throw their weight behind might end up coming out on top.
