Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 16, 2024.
Evelyn HochsteinReuter
Just two weeks before Election Day, a new CNBC/Generation Lab poll shows that Vice President Kamala Harris’ lead over Republican Donald Trump has increased in recent months among Americans ages 18 to 34. was found to be increasing.
The latest quarterly Youth and Money Survey shows Harris with a 20-point lead over the former president, with 60% of respondents saying they would vote for her in a head-to-head race and 40% saying they would vote for her. I replied that I would vote for him. Mr. Trump.
When asked a similar question in a July Youth and Money survey, only 46% of respondents chose Harris, while 34% said they would vote for Trump. An additional 21% of voters in the same poll said they would vote for then-candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or another third-party option.
Kennedy officially withdrew his candidacy for president on August 23, but the latest poll did not offer respondents a third option.
Harris’ 20-point lead over Trump in the latest poll matches the margin President Joe Biden ultimately won over young voters in the 2020 presidential election. Biden wins voters as he faces incumbent Trump There is a difference of about 20 points between the ages of 18 and 39.According to data from the Pew Research Center.
The latest polling also suggests an enthusiasm gap among younger voters, a gap that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are working hard to close.
When the pollster asked, “What do you think about the list of presidential candidates?” a significant 38% of respondents answered that they were “disappointed.” A further 41% of the survey sample responded, “I’m neutral.” Only one-fifth of respondents chose the third option, “excited,” to describe their feelings about the Harris-Trump matchup.
Former U.S. president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shouts to the crowd as he finishes his speech during a campaign rally at the Rider Health and Athletic Center at Saginaw Valley State University on October 3, 2024 in Saginaw, Michigan.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
There are also red flags in the polls of Democratic field organizers, who are launching a massive “Vote Off” effort to ensure they vote. young voters go to the polls And please vote.
According to the Youth and Money Survey, 32% say they still don’t know where or how they will vote. Another 31% planned to vote “in person on Election Day.” Almost one in four (24%) of those surveyed said they would vote by mail. Another 13% said they would vote early in person.
An NBC News poll recently reported that nearly half of Americans plan to vote early in person or by mail, and a majority of those voters are expected to vote for Harris.
On this issue, young Americans chose job creation and the economy, taxes and trust in government as the top three most important issues when voting for president. Asked to choose three out of a dozen options, 53% cited job creation, 39% cited taxes as their top three, and trust in government was key for 33% of respondents.
NextGen America organizer Maddie Tolchin (center) registers new students to vote in front of the FAU cafeteria, updates their dorm room addresses and reminds them to vote early in elections. NextGen said more than 4,000 students are enrolled at FAU.
Austin Elblatt | South Florida Sun Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Outside of these, immigration was in the top three for 27% of those surveyed, and the environment was in the top three for 26%. Student loans are also important, making them a top three issue for 25% of respondents.
The survey also found that a significant proportion of young voters believe the outcome of a negative vote is either very important or somewhat important.
With control of both the House and Senate on the line this November, cities and towns across the country will vote on thousands of local representative positions and voting plans.
In each of the four categories polled here: Senate, House, gubernatorial, and city/town elections, 65% to 69% of respondents said the outcome would be very or very important to their district. They answered that it was important to some extent.
Another key finding of the Youth and Money Study is how much TikTok has benefited from other social media platforms as a source of election information for young voters.
For the first time, respondents listed TikTok alongside TV news and websites as their primary source of election news. The viral video site, which is currently under threat of being banned in the U.S., is one of the top places respondents said they got most of their information about elections, far ahead of Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). .
When asked to choose “up to three” news sources, 45% said internet news sites, 39% said TV news, and 36% said TikTok among their top three choices.
Other notable sources of information are conversations with friends, cited by 31% of respondents, and Instagram, cited by 28% of respondents.
X and Facebook were in the top three for just 20% and 16% of those surveyed.
The CNBC/Generation Lab Quarterly Youth and Money Survey interviewed 1,021 respondents and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
