The Institute of Politics and GenForward, led by renowned political scientist Cathy Cohen, partnered to develop a national survey polling young adults on their political views ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Young adults have low levels of faith in political institutions. Only 29% of young adults have a favorable view on the Supreme Court (with 52% holding an unfavorable view), and 61% believe that the Court has become more politicized in recent years. Additionally, 39% of respondents say they don’t trust their governments at the local, state, or federal levels.
67% of young white women say that the nation's economy is somewhat or very poor, compared to 54% overall; 78% say the country is off on the wrong track, compared to 67% overall; and 64% say they are very or extremely worried about paying an unexpected bill of $1000, compared to 50% overall.
Inflation, economic growth, housing affordability, and income inequality ranked as the top issues facing the country and people’s communities. 78% of young adults say that a strong government is needed to handle today’s complex economic problems rather than a free market.
49% disapprove of Biden’s handling of his job as president while 33% disapprove of how Harris has handled her job as vice president, with 29% neither approving nor disapproving.
If the election was today, 42% of young people said they would vote for Harris, 33% for Trump, 11% for RFK Jr. and 10% someone else. 67% of Black women said they would vote for Harris. However, only 35% of young men said they would vote for Harris compared to 41% for Trump.
45% of Black men and 29% of Latino men said they would vote for Harris, compared to 64% and 52% who said they voted for Biden in 2020. Trump’s support among these groups has not increased dramatically: 28% of young Black men and 39% of young Latino men say they voted for Trump in 2020. This suggests that these groups are turning to third-party candidates or opting out of voting.
12% of white men and 15% of Latino men picked immigration as the biggest problem facing the country. Overall, 66% of young people said that the federal government is doing a bad job of managing immigration.
69% of young people said they regularly check social media for news on politics. Notably, Black young adults are more likely to get news from local TV (43%) than other racial groups.
75% of young Democrats and 37% of young independents say the administration’s handling of the war in Gaza has either not affected their vote choice or made them more likely to vote for Harris. However, a share of young Democrats (18%) and young independents (28%) say it has made them less likely to vote for her.
71% of young adults see gun violence as a big problem in the US today, and 56% support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons.
Jonathan Weisman, The New York Times
A group of seven Institute of Politics students collaborated with GenForward researchers Professor Cathy J. Cohen and Kumar Ramanathan to design the survey.
The nonpartisan Institute of Politics is committed to fostering the next generation of leaders in politics and public service. GenForward, a survey panel of racially and ethnically diverse young Americans, came out of The Black Youth Project at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University Of Chicago.
Cathy J. Cohen, principal investigator and founder of GenForward, is the David and Mary Winton Green Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago.
Kumar Ramanathan, the GenForward Postdoctoral Scholar, received his Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University in 2023. His research investigates the intersection of racial inequality, public policy, and political institutions.
Liam is a second-year student from Los Angeles studying Public Policy and Data Science. As the survey results come back, Liam is most interested in what young respondents have to say about their belief in existing political systems and the future of American democratic structures.
Originally from Houston, Ethan is a fourth year studying Economics at UChicago, where he is also enrolled in the MA program in International Relations. Through his work on the project, Ethan gained a rich understanding of the complexity of survey research and the electoral importance of young people of color.
Gabriel Kraemer is an incoming second-year student from Washington, D.C. studying political science. He joined the GenForward project to learn more about how survey research works, and he hopes the survey will shed light on how young people in the U.S. think about the stakes of the democratic process.
Originally from San Francisco, Simone Nelson is a rising third-year student, pursuing a double major in Law, Letters, and Society and Political Science. She has had a lifelong passion for politics, voting rights, and reproductive justice, and was excited to join the GenForward student team in order to find out crucial information about where young adults stand on some of these issues.
Maxwell Taylor is from Boyds, Maryland, a small rural town in Montgomery County. He is a rising third-year student at the University of Chicago, double majoring in Political Science and Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity. He joined the survey team to help provide a platform for young adult voters to express their concerns during this election year.
Isabelle Townley is a rising third year from Los Angeles, California majoring in Public Policy and Philosophy. She was first interested in the GenForward survey because young people are not well represented in polling.
Alexandra is a rising second year from San Rafael, California majoring in Political Science and Data Science. She was interested in the GenForward Survey primarily because of its focus on young people’s engagement in politics, voting, and the upcoming election, as well as the intersection of policy and data.
