White House faces disaster with young voters

President Biden is facing a disaster with young voters, increasing fears among Democrats that they are in danger of losing a generation if he doesn’t improve his standing with Generation Z. Biden’s approval rating has declined across the board among Democrats, but the figures with people under 30 years old is cratering. A New York Times/Siena College poll this week found 94 percent of Democratic primary voters ages 18-29 saying the party should nominate someone other than Biden in 2024. Biden, 79, has never been the candidate for younger Democrats, though they did rally to help him win the White House in 2020 as the president endorsed key progressive policy initiatives to address climate change and other issues. Now the polls suggest they could abandon him altogether amid frustration with a lack of progress in Washington on everything from climate change to abortion rights.

“A lot of the young people that I’m talking to in particular right now are asking what the point is of having a Democratic trifecta if our rights are still being ripped away,” said Ellen Sciales, communications director at the youth climate activist group the Sunrise Movement. “Like, what’s the point of voting? And obviously we’re pushing people to vote but it’s going to make it so much harder for us to do our jobs,” she said. Biden received high marks from young voters at the start of his presidency. However, a Gallup poll released in April found that Biden’s approval rating had dropped 21 percentage points among Americans belonging to Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2004 – and 19 percentage points among Millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996 – between the start of his presidency and this past March. A big focus when it comes to Biden and young voters is the president’s age. He would be 81 at the beginning of a second term in office, should he be reelected. Yet Biden’s job performance, not his age, is the dominant issue driving young Democrats to prefer someone different than Biden in 2024, according to the New York Times/Siena College poll. Young Democrats in the poll were the least likely to cite Biden’s age as the main reason for wanting new blood. “I think it’s about issues rather than age,” said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.