President Joe Biden is leading former President Donald Trump among young voters, according to the Harvard Institute of Politics Youth Poll for spring 2024 released on Thursday, as the two rivals barrel toward a rematch in November.
But Biden’s edge among the critical group of voters has narrowed compared to the same poll in 2020.
The poll, which took into account responses from 2,010 Americans between ages 18 and 29, found 45% of respondents said they would support Biden in November, while 37% would support Trump. Sixteen percent was undecided.
When the pool of those surveyed was narrowed to young people who are likely to vote in November, Biden’s margin of support grew to a 19% lead, with 56% choosing Biden and 37% choosing Trump.
The 19-point edge, however, marks a decline since the two last prepared to face one another in 2020, when that year’s spring Harvard Institute of Politics poll found Biden leading likely youth voters by 30 percentage points.
When asked about the national issue that concerns them most, 27% mentioned something to do with the economy. The poll found 30% approved of Biden’s handling of the economy and 23% approved of his handling of inflation in particular.
Just 18% approved of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Biden has faced mounting pressure on the world stage and from some at home over his support of Israel.
A majority of young voters surveyed (51%) said they support a permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Ten percent opposed such a move.
More than half of those surveyed, 53% to be exact, believe there is an immigration crisis at the Southern Border. Recent polls have shown immigration on the rise as a top issue of concern for voters of all ages.
The poll also found differences gaps in Biden’s margin of support among young likely 2024 voters when broken down by gender and gender.
While Biden still edges out Trump among likely youth voters of both genders, his lead among young women is 33 percentage points compared to just six percentage points among young men.
The president’s lead among young non-white voters is 43 percentage points while his lead with young white voters is just three points.
Trump has the edge when it comes to voter enthusiasm, with 76% of his supporters saying they are enthusiastic to vote for the former president while 44% of Biden supporters say the same about the president.
Overall, most of those surveyed, 53%, said they will “definitely” vote in November – a figure aligned with the 54% who said the same in 2020.
The poll was conducted between March 14-21 and included interviews in both Spanish and English. The margin of error for the sample is plus or minus 3.02%.
The most recent New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump leading Biden among registered voters of all ages by one percentage point (46% to 45%) with 8% undecided.