(DCWatchdog.com) – In new trouble for Joe Biden’s reelection hopes, another key Democrat demographic is turning away from him. A new poll has revealed that among young voters, he is tied with his most likely 2024 White House rival, Donald Trump.
After surveys recently found Biden was losing appeal with black Americans, a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College indicates a decline in Biden’s popularity among young voters.
The New York Times/Siena College survey reveals a near tie between Biden and former President Trump among voters under 30, with Biden at 30% and Trump at 29%.
The Hill reports that Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. garnered 34% support in this group,
An Emerson College poll last month showed a similar trend, with 45% of voters under 30 supporting Trump and 43% backing Biden.
This shift contrasts sharply with Biden’s strong performance among young voters in 2020, where he secured 61% of the vote among 18 to 29-year-olds, according to AP VoteCast.
“Young people, as we know, have always been fiercely independent. 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,” commented John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.
The report points out that Biden’s handling of the war between the Palestinian Arab Islamist terrorist group Hamas and US ally Israel war has drawn criticism from young activists.
Several progressivist groups, including March for Our Lives, GenZ For Change, and the Sunrise Movement, issued an open letter to Biden, cautioning that his approach to the Gaza Strip conflict could reduce turnout among Millennials and Generation Z voters.
“We write to you to issue a very stark and unmistakable warning: you and your Administration’s stance on Gaza risks millions of young voters staying home or voting third party next year,” the letter said.
Democratic strategist Jon Reinish notes Biden’s decline in popularity among young voters, rather than increasing support for Trump.
“I think it’s that Biden has taken a big hit with younger voters and is just not top of mind and I think that there is a restlessness that’s sort of playing. But I do not think that this is a move toward Trump by young voters by any stretch of the imagination,” Reinish said.
