Why Gen Z Voters Have Shifted Since the 2020 Election

The 2024 election cycle has been a tumultuous one, filled with twists and turns that ultimately led to the re-election of former President Donald Trump. The results of this election have left many devastated but also puzzled.

As election night progressed, it became more and more clear that Kamala Harris was falling behind in key swing states necessary for her election. These were states previously won by current President Joe Biden during his election in 2020. Though hope remained that Harris would pull through, the election was ultimately called for Trump on the morning of Nov. 6. 

Harris supporters were left blindsided by the loss, especially seeing as Harris was unable to reach Biden’s previous 2020 vote count of 81 million, despite seemingly record-breaking voter registration this election cycle. On top of that, youth voter turnout was seemingly at a high. What made this so crucial for the Harris campaign is that young voters tend to be more left-leaning.

So, when college campuses across several battleground states were reporting hours-long wait times at the polls, Harris supporters grew hopeful. However, despite all the signs being there for a potential Harris victory, she was unable to pull the votes necessary in these swing states to claim the presidency. Why is this? Youth voter turnout, as well as social media activism, was partly what helped push the Biden campaign to victory just four years ago. Could demographics have shifted so much in such a short amount of time? 

Shifting demographics 

During her short campaign, it was very apparent that Harris was strongly attempting to appeal to young voters. Her marketing team utilized ongoing trends, had Harris make an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, and pulled several A-List endorsements, among an array of other strategies.

However, none of this won her the White House. Her numbers with young voters faltered compared to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Meanwhile, Trump seemed to gain notable ground with young voters, despite not pulling the same heavy hitters that Harris did. 

It would be a lie to say that young voters as a whole voted conservatively in this election, as a majority of young people still cast their vote for Harris this cycle as indicated by exit polls. The pattern that has been pointed out, however, is that young voters leaned more conservatively this election than they did in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

In fact, Trump’s shares of youth votes in some exit polls went up over seven percentage points since 2020. These statistics went completely against what Harris supporters had originally imagined, due to the sheer influence youth turnout had on the previous election cycle. The Harris campaign allocated heaps of funding and time toward drawing in younger voters, and in the end, it didn’t work in their favor. 

Young Male Voters 

Now, you may be thinking, where exactly did the Harris campaign fall short in terms of youth demographics? The answer is: with young men. Young female voters supported Harris over Trump, though the margin did decrease from 2020 to 2024. However, it seems as though there’s been a large shift in how young men have chosen to vote in the last four years.

According to some exit polls, young male voters went from voting more liberally to voting much more conservatively in just one election cycle. And yes, exit polls can differ depending on the news outlet, but the general consensus is that young male voters experienced a large shift in voting patterns specifically. This raises the question, why the sudden shift? 

There’s a multitude of reasons for the shift in young male voters toward Trump. Specifically, many young men cited the economy as their number one concern going into this election. Meanwhile, young women cited issues such as abortion access as their greatest concern. With Trump’s main talking point being his economic plan — a plan that has been majorly debated — young men began to lean on and idolize his campaign more. 

However, the issue can run a bit deeper. Some have argued that with increased social media access, young men have gained access to a side of the internet that heavily promotes more traditional and conservative ideals as “correct” and “proper.” Many young men have been pulled in by hyper-masculine online rhetoric, and the Trump campaign played heavily into this.

They had Trump interview with popular influencers in this male-dominated space, such as Joe Rogan, Jake Paul, and more. This heavily influenced young male voters who already idolized these influencers, in turn encouraging them to idolize Trump. These campaign tactics could have very easily been a cause for such a stark shift in young male demographics. 

Overall, the issue of young voters beginning to lean more conservatively is very nuanced. With such drastic changes happening in just four years, there’s no telling exactly what the cause was. However, it is important to acknowledge a shift in a voter base that is usually very consistent, especially in an election as large as this one. 

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