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.
Some additional interesting points in the cited poll report:
- Gen Z adults trend slightly less Republican than older Americans. More than half of Gen Z teens do not identify with a major party, but most share their parents’ party affiliation.
- Gen Z adults are more liberal than older Americans. Gen Z teens are more moderate.
- Gen Z is more religiously diverse than older generations. Gen Z teens mirror their parents’ religious affiliation. Gen Z teens are more likely than Gen Z adults to attend church or find religion important.
- Most Gen Z Americans, particularly Gen Z Democrats, are more likely than older Americans to believe that generational change in political leadership is necessary to solve the country’s problems. Younger and older generations both express a lack of understanding across generational lines.
It bothers me that younger Gen Zs find religion more important than older Gen Zs. I’d hate to see all that progress in abandoning religion reversed.
I want this to be true with every being of my body. BUT….they’ve been saying this for years about each generation.
Young people are generally far less likely to vote, so which way they vote is somewhat irrelevant.
But Gen Z did have a higher turnout in 2022 than prior generations.
So it be smart to go listen to try and not only keep them at the table, to offer more chairs too.
Headline aside, 28% turnout for genz vs 23% for millenials, genx, and boomers in their respective first midterms is not going to swing an election where current boomers turn out 70% and genx turn out 60.
But they did swing the 2022 midterms.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/analyses/the-2022-midterm-elections-what-the-historical-data-suggest
In the 22 midterm elections from 1934 -2018, the President’s party has averaged a loss of 28 House seats and four Senate seats.
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,
So it be smart to go listen to try and not only keep them at the table, to offer more chairs too.
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
“they” are the same people who control politics and have ensured that the balance isn’t disrupted, please grow to realise this, it is not natural for humans to be divided down the middle over how to follow natural law
What the fuck are you going on about? Also they in fucken qoutes, smells like 4Chan JQ trite. Also natural law? Like fucken gravity, or are ya vague posten about trans folks. Ya know what it doesnt matter, your entire comment read like a damned dog whistle and I am satisfied pointen it out.
If ya can give a reasonable explanation please do. If not piss off.
stop using full grammar when you can’t even type correctly half the time, you need to establish a firm grasp upon the logic with which the world exists in to understand that most things pushed nowadays aren’t correct, i suggest you exercise your mind by means of theorising about concepts rather than jumping upon a wish to “see sources”, because the sources are invented by those who want to keep you from your own mind :)
Its called phonetic writing ya shitstain, a concept pioneered by Samuel Clemens. Also way to fucken go with dodgen the fucken question, maybe if you read a little you wouldnt be an insufferable cur, and this is commin from an Inland Imperial Redneck.
it’s actually called spelling words incorrectly, rant when you can spell right lol
I can spell “correctly” if I want, I choose not to. But then again you sound like someone who gets pissy that I spell and say aluminum and not aliminium even though I aint a fucking Saxon.
But that is all irrelevant, you are choosing to not interact with any of my points due to a thin veneer of classism. All cause I choose to spell phonetically. Or in other words, Ya done did what I expected boy.
But I can practically smell thine weakness through your comments. And allfather willing I hope you can hike up thine fucking panties and respond properly, stop being a gormless cowardly bitch.
i’m also not english, i’m irish by family, culture, ethnicity, language, and self-declaration, thankfully i’m not a putrid american and i can even speak the languages i do in the correct manner lol, please do come back to me when you have a valid point to make though, whenever or if-ever that should be :)
I have never seen someone give off stronger sovereign citizen vibes without specifically mentioning “traveling not driving” or admiralty law. If you’re trolling, well done.
irrelevant comment, it usually is you clusterfucked anti-religion people who turn out whining harder than i’ve ever seen one of my own do
Same. I’m nearly 40, and I’ve been hearing this since before I could vote, and yet the GOP hasn’t been voted out of existence. If it were up to me they’d be purged from every position of power nationwide.
There were/are a lot of olds. They have dominated politics for a long time and have also not died due to being the first people to take advantage of modern medicine.
There were/are a lot of olds. They have dominated politics for a long time and have also not died
I keep thinking Covid was a missed opportunity.
And instead what we got is the Democrat party moving to the right. Because as it turns out, procorporate trash would rather lose to fascists than compromise with leftists.
Weren’t 2020 and 2022 record years for youth voter turnout?
They were record years for voter turnout in general. So youth turnout, though improved from previous years, was still less than turnout of older generations.
Can’t imagine why that would be. Boomers elected the whitest, oldest, boomerest candidate running in the 2020 primaries. Don’t these young people know a compromise when they see it?? /s
No, young voters were the strongest supporters of the oldest white guy in the 2020 Democratic primary. He came in second.
Gen Z is unlikely to show up at the polls. Hell, they can barely show up at work in the morning.
the fuck boomer shit is this
