Young Voters Aren't Warming Up To Biden. They Know It Means Trump Could Win Again.
President Joe Biden should have a lock on Viviana Ramos' vote. She's a liberal young woman from an immigrant family working a service-industry job that keeps her living paycheck to paycheck, worried about climate change, health care, the cost of college and buying a house.But Biden may not get her vote in November.
Ramos, 24, voted for him in 2020 but is now unsure whether she can bring herself to support him again, even if it means a second presidency for Donald Trump, who she dislikes even more.
"That fuels the rage. It's really disheartening. I have a moral battle with myself: Do I even vote this time around? I don't want to have to choose between them. One is slightly worse than the other. It's horrible," said Ramos, who works at a coffee shop inside downtown Chattanooga's historic train station.
Ramos is one of many young voters stewing with grievances over the country's future, from the existential crisis of climate change to the frustration over inflation, reproductive rights, high interest rates, Israel's war in Gaza, immigration reform and the power corporations have over their working conditions.
Experts say young voters nationally may ultimately decide this 2024 presidential race. In 2016, young voters helped Trump claim victory by either staying home or choosing a third-party candidate. And in 2020 they helped Biden win by turning out near-record numbers and skipping third-party options.
Turned off by both parties
In 2016, nearly 40% of young voters cast ballots, rising to 50% in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Although young voters are typically less likely to identify as Republican or Democrat, they are also more likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
Today, polls show Biden has weak support among young voters, and that while 26% of Americans overall have a negative view of both Trump and Biden, a significantly larger 41% of young voters dislike both, according to a poll by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Many young liberal voters say they understand that Biden’s reelection depends heavily on their support, and hope his campaign and administration begins addressing their concerns more forcefully. They're well aware that if they don't give Biden their vote, Trump will more easily win.
Kristian Mansel, 23 said she's willing to see a Trump victory if it means Biden and Democratic Party learn a lesson. She's mad Biden and Democrats have failed to protect reproductive rights or wipe out student loans.
"It's just there's too many strikes against him and the Democratic Party at this point in general," said Mansel, a University of Memphis student who considers herself liberal.
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