Four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump has been successfully selling white Christian nostalgia, racism and xenophobia to his base. However, the Public Religion Research Institute’s massive poll of 6,616 participants suggests that what works with his base might pose an insurmountable problem with Gen Z teens and Gen Z adults (who are younger than 25).
Demographically, this cohort of voters bears little resemblance to Trump’s older, whiter, more religious followers. “In addition to being the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in our nation’s history, Gen Z adults also identify as LGBTQ at much higher rates than older Americans,” the PRRI poll found. “Like millennials, Gen Zers are also less likely than older generations to affiliate with an established religion.”
Those characteristics suggest Gen Z will favor a progressive message that incorporates diversity and opposes government imposition of religious views. Indeed, “Gen Z adults (21%) are less likely than all generational groups except millennials (21%) to identify as Republican.” Though 36 percent of Gen Z adults identify as Democrats, their teenage counterparts are more likely to be independents (51 percent) than older generations.
But they did swing the 2022 midterms.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/analyses/the-2022-midterm-elections-what-the-historical-data-suggest
In 2022 the Democratic party only lost 7 House seats and gained a Senate seat.
Leading into the election polli g and pundits predicted a decisive win for Republicans, and the unprecedented youth the out by Gen Z is credited as being a difference maker in the Democratic party outperforming expectations.
It would be foolish to write off Gen Z in 2024 by attributing to them the preceding generations’ (including mine, I’m Gen X) participation at matching ages.
I feel like the 2022 turnout is more down to the unique conditions and issues, across the age spectrum - especially Dobbs and election lies - than to anything specific to 20-year-olds. 28% turnout still means that the vast majority of GenZ can’t be bothered.
I mean, the handful of GenZ that have reached adulthood do seem marginally more active than other post-war cohorts, but they aren’t overthrowing historic voting trends. Pinning hopes for future political outcomes on them is as foolish as pinning the future of US democracy to black voters, or hispanic voters or any other minority/niche population, but media love doing just that. Just try googling “black women save democracy.”
Well fuck it, let’s ignore the last two elections they influenced and give up on them then.
Or, I dunno,
No way buddy if they’re not showing up for the whitest, oldest, boomerest strike blocking genocide supporting procorporate trash candidate there’s literally no pleasing them. These damn 40 year old kids don’t know a compromise when they see it! /s
I’m not saying to pin all hopes on the one generation. I’m saying don’t write them off as disengaged non-voters when they’ve already shown a higher participation rate than their predecessors at their current age.