Bill Wilson, former President of Americans for Limited Government, has highlighted a concerning trend: declining support for President Biden among young voters in battleground states, a trend that goes beyond the significant double-digit drop compared to his 2020 victory.
As reported by The Ohio Star on Saturday, October 21, Bill pointed out the challenges the Democratic Party faces in securing the loyalty of Generation Z (Gen Z) as the 2024 election approaches. Gen Z, aged 18 to 24, navigates a turbulent economic environment marked by surging inflation, waves of illegal immigration, rising crime rates, and global instability.
Wilson argued that Gen Z is not a negligible voting bloc, representing a significant 13% of the votes cast in the 2024 election, roughly 20 million votes depending on turnout. This number surpasses the population of most U.S. states, equivalent to combining all residents of Arizona, Iowa, Nevada, and Wisconsin. In the 2020 election, Biden won Gen Z by a 35-percentage point margin, making Zoomers a fundamental Democratic voting group.
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However, Biden’s polling numbers have suffered across the board, and his standing with Gen Z is now weaker than with Millennials. Data from Redfield & Wilton Strategies in swing states underscored Biden’s underperformance with Gen Z, particularly in areas such as the economy, foreign policy, and immigration.
For example, in Arizona, 63% of Zoomers expressed their objection to Biden’s potential re-election in 2024, compared to 51% of 25–34-year-olds, translating to a substantial 12-percentage point difference. Zoomers also disapproved of Biden’s presidential performance, with 51% expressing disapproval, 37% strongly disapproving. Millennials aged 25-34 also disapproved but by 13-percentage points less than Zoomers.
On the economic front, Zoomers disapproved of Biden’s performance by 14 percentage points (48% disapprove, 34% approve), while Millennials narrowly disapproved (40% disapprove, 39% approve), an additional eight-percentage points difference. Regarding immigration, 56% of Zoomers disapproved of Biden’s policies, compared to 44% of Millennials. In terms of foreign policy, 43% of Zoomers disapproved compared to 29% of Millennials.
For years, Democrats have relied on young voters to support their progressive agenda. However, with Gen Z, this trend might be shifting for the first time in decades. According to Bill, despite media and mainstream institutions supporting the Biden Administration’s policies, young people are blaming Biden for perceived inaction on rising living costs, illegal immigration, and global unrest.
Bill emphasized that unless Republicans look beyond mainstream headlines, which often portray young people as exclusively aligned with the far-left, conservatives might miss a significant opportunity.
