Young voters—and particularly younger women—voted overwhelmingly more Democratic than their older counterparts, according to a newly released post-election survey of more than 5,000 registered voters conducted by Navigator Research.
Gen Z voters favored Democrats by 12 points, 51%-39%, while millennials did by 9 points, 52%-43%. Every other generation picked Republicans over Democrats: Gen X by 4 points, baby boomers by 7 points, and the Silent Generation by 17 points. But young women aged 18-29 led the pack, voting for Democrats by an emphatic 23 points.
Among women under 30, abortion dominated as the top issue, with 52% saying it was their preeminent concern. Men under 30 tagged jobs and the economy as their top issue at 40% while inflation took the number 2 spot at 36%; abortion and wages/cost of living tied for third most important among men under 30 at 29%.
Still, a 40% plurality of Gen Z voters named abortion as their top issue, while inflation rose to the top for every other generation, including millennials.
Gen Z voters cited abortion (46%), climate change (43%), taxing the wealthy (34%), and gun reform (32%) as their main motivations in voting for Democrats. But again, fully 61% of women under 30 cited abortion as their most compelling reason to vote Democratic. On the other side of the age index, baby boomers (56%) and the Silent Generation (53%) both named protecting Social Security and Medicare as their top reasons for supporting Democrats, though abortion tied for first at 53% among the Silent Generation and came in second for baby boomers at 47%.
Not only were young voters far more likely to vote Democratic, they appear poised to stick with Democrats for the long haul. Republicans are practically toxic waste zones on nearly every one of their top issues, including reproductive freedom, combating climate change and protecting the planet, making sure wealthy Americans pay their fair share, and reforming gun laws to minimize gun violence.
Not to mention the fact that the Republican Party has been led by a ranting maniac for the last handful of years, which has inspired higher engagement among younger voters for the last few election cycles.
With the Republican Party gearing up to take the majority in the 2023 Congressional term, the disarray they have been experiencing the past six years is now at Keystone Cops-level hilarity. Markos and Kerry speak with Daily Kos Senior Staff Writer Joan McCarter. Joan covers the Congress day-in and day-out, and has done so for a decade. She gives Markos and Kerry an enjoyable blow-by-blow of the Republican mud wrestling match going on right now.
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