Social media is the primary news source for voters under 30; 76% of young voters say their parents’ generation has better economic opportunity than their generation
A new Emerson College Polling poll of American voters shows that President Biden continues to trail former President Donald Trump, 43% to 47%, with 9% of voters undecided. With the addition of independent or third-party candidates Robert Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein to the ballot, support for Trump drops to 43%, and Biden to 37%, while 7% support Kennedy, with 1% for Stein and West, respectively. Twelve percent are undecided. In the competition between Joe Biden and Nikki Haley, 39% support both candidates respectively, while 23% are undecided. These numbers mirror polls conducted last month, and this month’s poll included a sample of young voters to better understand changes in their attitudes toward President Biden.
“In a large sample of voters under 30, 45% support Biden and 40% support Trump in a head-to-head contest, while 16% are undecided,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. Within this group, there is a split between voters under 25 and over. Among voters under 25, 48% support Biden and 35% Trump, while voters between 25 and 29 are split: 44% support Trump and 42% support Biden.
The oversample of voters under 30 included n=182 new voters who did not participate in 2020. 43 percent of these new voters support Trump in 2024 while 21% support Biden (+/- 7.2%).
Economic concerns are highest among voters under 30
The economy remains the top issue voters care about at 38%, while 15% see “threats to democracy” as the most important issue facing the United States, 11% see immigration as the top issue, 9% health care, and 7% crime. 6% housing affordability, 5% education.
- Concern about the economy is highest among voters under 30: 44% see the economy as the most important issue facing the United States, followed by health care (14%), education (10%), crime (8%), and housing affordability . (8%).
Voters under 30 were also asked what concerned them most in an open-ended response. The most important words mentioned were “inflation” (94 mentions), “economy” (71 mentions), and “money” (49 mentions); The word “worry” or “worry” was mentioned 67 times. No other phrase was mentioned more than 29 times.
More than 3 in 4 (76%) of voters under 30 believe their parents’ generation has better economic opportunities than their generation today, while 24% disagree.
- This feeling decreases with age: 71% of people in their 30s believe their parents’ generation has better opportunities, compared to 70% of voters in their 40s, 62% of voters in their 50s, and 58% of voters in their 60s. Age, and 50% of voters are in their fifties. % of these are 70 and above.
“Financial concerns and emotional tension among young voters regarding the cost of living are impacting their perception of President Biden’s leadership,” Kimball concluded. Some lose confidence, and do not necessarily turn to Trump, but rather explore third-party options.
Presidential endorsement and 2024 primaries
President Biden has an approval rating of 41%, while 51% disapprove of the job he does in the Oval Office.
- Biden’s approval is lower among voters between the ages of 18 and 24, at 35%, but rises to an overall average of 41% among voters between the ages of 25 and 29.
- “One thing that concerns Biden with young voters is their perception of his handling of the situation in Israel: Voters under the age of 25 are 44% more likely to rate Biden’s handling of the situation in Israel as “poor,” and are the least likely to rate Biden’s handling of the situation in Israel is “bad.” Spencer Kimball, executive director of polling at Emerson College, said he had an excellent/good response rate of 24%. “This compares to 34% of 25-29 year olds who rated his approach as excellent or good, 35% of voters in their 30s, 31% of voters in their 40s, and 36% of voters in their 50s. 39% of voters are in their fifties, and 39% of voters are in their forties. 60s, and 38% of voters are 70 years or older.”
In the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Biden leads with 63%, while 5% support Marianne Williamson and 2% support Dean Phillips.
- Among Democrats under 30, Biden has significant support minimum 56% below the average, while 12% support Marianne Williamson, and 5% support Dean Phillips. Twenty-eight percent are undecided.
In the Republican primary, Donald Trump maintains his lead with 64% approval, followed by Nikki Haley with 14%, Ron DeSantis with 7%, and Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie with 4%, respectively. In a hypothetical competition between Trump and Haley only, Trump leads by 76% to 23%.
- Among Republicans under 30, Trump has significant support higher From the average of 73%, while 6% support Ramaswamy, 5% support DeSantis, and 3% support Haley and Christie, respectively.
“While young Democrats are distancing themselves from Biden, Trump’s overwhelming support within the GOP primaries is strongest among young voters,” Kimball noted. This presents a potential pitfall for Biden, who won nearly 2-to-1 among young voters in the election. 2020.
2024 congressional elections
On the 2024 general congressional ballot, 44% support the Democratic congressional nominee while 43% support the Republican congressional nominee.
- Among voters under the age of 30, 48% support the Democratic candidate while 33% support the Republican candidate.
- “While President Biden received 45% of the under-30 vote, the overall Democrat performed three percentage points better on congressional ballots at 48%,” senior director Matt Taglia noted. “By contrast, 33% of voters under 30 support an at-large Republican in Congress, six points lower than Trump’s share of voters under 30.”
Media use is determined by age
The media source voters rely on most for news and information varies greatly by age. As voters get older, they become more likely to rely on cable or network news for information: from 15% of those under 30 to 52% of those over 70. In contrast, the likelihood of relying on social media for news and information decreases as voters age. Age: From 62% of those under 30 years old use it as their primary source, to 3% of those over 70 years old. Local news stations as primary sources peak among people in their 40s at 31%.
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- In terms of use of social media platforms, 65% of people under 30 use Age, 31% of people in their 40s, those in their 50s, 20% of those in their 60s, and 8% of those over 70 years old.
- Democrats are more likely to use Twitter at least several days over a two-week period (43%) than Republicans (32%).
- Voters use Instagram more: 82% of under-30s use it at least a few times every two weeks, compared to 75% of 30s, 54% of 4-0s, and 30% of 50s Of age. 16% of those in their sixties, and 7% of those in their seventies.
- The majority of people under 60 use Facebook at least several times every two weeks: including 81% of those in their 30s, 78% of those in their 40s, 73% of those under 30, and 67% of those in their 50s of age, 47% of people in their 60s, and 39% of people aged 70 and over.
Tik Tok
- 78% of voters under 30 use TikTok at least a few times every two weeks, and 43% use it almost every day. 65% of voters in their 30s use TikTok several times in two weeks, 45% of voters in their 40s, 20% in their 50s, 10% in their 60s, and just 2% of those over 70.
“These data illustrate the evolution of information consumption: younger generations prefer social media, while older individuals rely on cable and network news,” Kimball noted.
Anxiety highest among young people; Decreases with age
Voters were asked questions from Item 2 of Generalized Anxiety Disorder as a tool for understanding anxiety levels among voters. First, participants were asked how often during the past two weeks they had felt nervous, anxious, or nervous. 58% feel this way at least several days a week, including 32% saying several days in the past two weeks, 15% more than half the days, and 12% almost every day. 42% answered, “Not at all.”
- Voters under 25 are most likely to feel stressed, anxious or nervous at least several days a week at 81%, falling to 80% of 25-29 year olds, 79% of voters in their 30s, and 73% % of voters in their 40s, 33% of voters in their 50s, 42% of voters in their 60s, and 44% of voters age 70 or older.
Next, participants were asked how often during the past two weeks they were unable to stop or control worrying. A majority (52%) of voters overall have never felt anxious, while 48% have felt it at least a few times in the past two weeks. A quarter of them felt anxious several times in the past two weeks, 11% felt anxious more than half the days in the past two weeks, and 12% felt anxious almost every day.
- Similar to the first anxiety measure, those under 30 are more likely to report that they experience an inability to stop or control anxiety than those over 30: 72% of voters under 25 experience this several days At least in the last two weeks. 75% of voters ages 25-29 say the same, compared to 64% of voters in their 30s, 48% of voters in their 40s, 37% of voters in their 50s, and 31% of voters in their 60s 34% of voters are in their sixties. Voters 70 or older.
methodology
The national Emerson College Polling poll was conducted December 4-6, 2023. The sample of registered voters, n = 1,000, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3 percentage points. Data sets are weighted by gender, education, race, age, party affiliation, and region based on the 2024 registration model. Turnout models are based on U.S. Census standards and voter registration data. An oversample of 800 voters under the age of 30 was collected for further analysis of the youth vote.
It is important to remember that subgroups based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the survey score range, and with a 95% confidence interval, the survey falls outside the score range 1 in 20 times.
Data were collected by calling an interactive voice response (IVR) system for landlines, a consumer list by email (both provided by Aristotle), and an online voter panel provided by Alchemer.
All questions asked in this survey in their exact form, as well as full results, demographics and cross-tabulations, can be found under “Full Results”. This survey was funded by Emerson College.
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The December 2023 National Poll has revealed a concerning trend among young voters, as economic fears and anxiety are causing them to turn away from President Biden. The poll indicates that many young individuals are feeling disillusioned with the current economic climate and are increasingly skeptical about Biden’s ability to address their concerns. The findings raise important questions about the impact of economic issues on political attitudes and the potential consequences for the Biden administration.