Politics
The Youngest Voters Are Becoming Overwhelmingly Republican
By Jake Beardslee · April 17, 2025
Gen Z Voters Show Strong Shift Toward Republicans in New Poll
A new survey suggests that the Republican Party is gaining significant traction with young Americans, particularly those in the youngest voting bracket. The Yale Youth Poll, affiliated with the Yale Institution for Social and Political Studies, shows that voters aged 18 to 21 now favor Republicans by a margin of 11.7 points when asked about the 2026 Congressional elections. In contrast, voters aged 22 to 29 continue to lean Democratic, favoring the party by 6.4 points. Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
Conservative Turn Among Young Voters Emerged in 2024 Election
This data signals a possible generational shift in political alignment, deviating from the long-held expectation that young voters overwhelmingly support Democrats. This evolving landscape was already evident in the 2024 presidential election, when Gen Z's conservative tilt contributed to President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Staff Sgt. Danny Gonzalez / Wikimedia
Poll Surveyed Over 4,000 Voters, Including Young Oversample
The poll, conducted from April 1–3 among 4,100 registered voters—including an oversample of 2,024 aged 18 to 29—has a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 1.8 for the youth subset. Element5 Digital / Pexels
JD Vance Tops GOP Favorites Among Young Republican Voters
Among Republican respondents, Vice President JD Vance emerged as the most popular figure, holding a +65 net favorability overall and +54 among GOP voters under 30. Over half—53 percent—of Republicans said they would back Vance in a hypothetical 2028 primary. The White House / Wikimedia
Kamala Harris Leads Democrats, But Support Remains Split
Democrats, however, are more divided. Former Vice President Kamala Harris is the leading figure among her party’s young voters, but only 27.5 percent said they would support her in a 2028 primary. She maintains a +60 favorability rating. Lawrence Jackson / Wikimedia
Trump’s Approval Among Young Voters Rises Above 50%
Support for Trump among younger Americans also appears to be climbing. A February poll from AtlasIntel showed the president with a 52.7 percent approval rating among 18- to 29-year-olds. The White House / Wikimedia
Polls Show Disapproval of Trump’s Economic Performance
Yet not all the numbers are in Trump’s favor. A recent CBS News/YouGov survey revealed that 56 percent of respondents disapproved of his handling of the economy, with only 44 percent approving. Kaboompics.com / Pexels
Analyst Warns Democrats Risk Losing Key Part of Youth Base
David B. Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron, told Newsweek last year: “Young voters compose a crucial part of the Democratic base, and if that is eroding, where do they make up for that? Going forward, Democrats will have to figure out how to bring young voters back to the fold—particularly young men—if they want to be competitive nationally.” Element5 Digital / Pexels
Pollster Stresses Need to Understand Young Voters’ Beliefs
Arjun Warrior, a data scientist with the Yale Youth Poll, emphasized the importance of understanding young voters: “Politicians often promise things to young voters and reach out to young voters, but they can't do that if they don't have an understanding of what young voters believe and where young voters are. That's why polls like this are really important because they provide insight—albeit imperfect insight, but insight nonetheless—into what young voters believe.” Sora Shimazaki / Pexels