Biden Loses Ground with Young Voters, Prompting Dem Concerns

By Staff, Agencies

Democrats are raising concerns that US President Joe Biden’s standing among young voters is in jeopardy after polling released this week showed he effectively tied with former President Donald Trump among young voters.

A New York Times/Siena College survey released Monday showed Biden virtually tied with Trump among voters younger than 30, with 30 percent backing Biden and 29 percent backing Trump. Thirty-four percent said they backed independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Meanwhile, an Emerson College poll released last month found 45 percent of voters younger than 30 backing Trump, while 43 percent said they supported Biden.

The latest data is surprising, given Biden’s victory over Trump among young voters in 2020. According to AP VoteCast, Biden won 61 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 29.

“Young people as we know have always been fiercely independent,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. “It’s a more cynical electorate with God knows how many more independent candidacies, which on the youth cohort are more likely to hurt Biden more than Trump.” 

The polling comes as Biden has faced backlash among young voters and activists for his handling of the ‘Israel’ war on Gaza.

Earlier this week, several progressive groups, including March for Our Lives, GenZ For Change, and the Sunrise Movement, penned an open letter to Biden, warning his handling of the ‘Israeli’ war on Gaza could depress turnout among Millennial and Generation Z voters come next year.