In poll after poll, Bernie Sanders outpaces every Democratic presidential candidate with young voters from both the Millennial generation and Gen Z (those born 1990s to early 2000s) The new Harvard youth poll released today is no exception.
Bernie Holds Double-Digit Lead Over 2020 Rivals Among Young Democratic Voters: Poll
For the young, survey suggests, Sanders not too old
A new national poll of young Democratic voters released Monday shows Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the crowded 2020 field with a double-digit lead over the second most popular candidate, Joe Biden.
According to the survey by the Institute of Politics (IOP) at the Harvard Kennedy School, the U.S. senator from Vermont is preferred by 31 percent of likely Democratic primary voters between the ages of 18 and 29 years old.
While Biden came in second place with 20 percent and Beto O'Rourke of Texas nabbed the third spot with 10 percent, none of the other candidates garnered more than single digits in the poll. After O'Rourke, IOP noted the following support for the remaining candidates:
Sen. Kamala Harris (5%), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (4%), Sen. Cory Booker (3%), Andrew Yang (2%), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (1%), former Sec. Julian Castro (1%), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (1%), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (1%), Gov. Jay Inslee (1%) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (1%). Several other candidates polled at less than one percent at this early stage.
Proving that young voters see more than age, it's notable that the candidates with the most experience in government service are leading a diverse field at this early stage in the process," said John Della Volpe, IOP's director of polling.
"Compared to this point in the last presidential cycle," he added, "young Democratic voters are more engaged and likely to have an even greater impact in choosing their party's nominee."
In the 2020 election, Millennials and Gen Z will comprise the biggest voting bloc and it’s no surprise both gens are supporting Bernie Sanders. Not only will these young voters comprise the largest voting bloc in 2020, they are the most diverse generation in U.S. history. And they are paying attention. Engagement and turn out of young voters increased in 2016 to 51%. While the rate still remains below the overall 61% turn out rate for all voters, it leaves room for growth.
Young Voters Turned Out in Historic Numbers, Early Estimates Show
In 2016, Bernie won more young voters than Hillary and Trump combined. His bold progressive platform resonates with young voters who are more economically, environmentally and socially conscientious than previous generations. In fact, nearly half, support socialism, once considered radical but now mainstream.
Economy, Bernie’s signature issue, was the number one issue for young voters in the 2018 midterm election.
Asked if they agreed with the statement: “Prefer living in a socialist country,” 49.6 percent of Millennials and members of Generation Z, when combined, said they agreed according to the survey conducted by Harris poll given exclusively to Axios. That differed from the 37.2 percent of the total adult group surveyed.
Young voters get it; free market solutions are not working for them.
In previous polling and today’s Harvard Youth poll, Bernie leads not only with the youth vote in general, but also with women, Latinos and ties for first place with young African-American voters.
Ms. Larson is part of Generation Z, one of the most ethnically diverse and progressive age groups in American history. People born after 1996 tend to espouse similar views to the age cohort just ahead of them, the Millennials, but they are far more open to social change than older generations have been, according to the findings of a new report by the Pew Research Center. The findings mark a shift that could substantially reshape the nation’s political and economic landscape.
It may be the young generation that saves us after all.
Update: This poll of N=3,022 18- to 29- year-olds, organized with undergraduate students from the Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) and directed by John Della Volpe, was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs using the KnowledgePanel Calibration approach. In this approach, the calibrating sample was provided by the KnowledgePanel probably-based sample source, while the sample to be calibrated was provided by non-probability, opt-in web panel sample sources. Interviews were conducted between March 8 and March 20, 2019. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 2.64 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.