Young voters shifted right in the 2024 election; the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation examined why

By Susan A. Hughes
October 20, 2025

One of the most surprising statistics from the 2024 presidential election was the surge of support President Trump received from Gen Z voters. While these voters, born between 1997 and 2012, turned out in fewer numbers across all demographics in 2024 as compared to 2020, their voting preferences shifted to the right.

The Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation presented a panel of Gen Z experts to share their perspectives on this shift. Hosted by Steven Richer, senior fellow at the Ash Center, the discussion was cosponsored by the Institute of Politics.

Christina Iruela Lane MPP 2026, a research assistant at the Ash Center, drew on her research to point out that Gen Z favored Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election by just four points, strikingly less than the 25-point margin for Biden in 2020. “This marks the strongest showing for a Republican presidential candidate among young voters since 2008,” said Iruela Lane.

In the first seven months of this administration, Iruela Lane said, research indicates an overall downturn in approval ratings for Trump, especially among Gen Z voters, dropping from 94% to 69%.

Two key issues for Gen Z voters, dissatisfaction with the economy and the way immigration is being handled, most likely influenced the drop in approval, according to Iruela Lane.

What she found most startling—and perhaps an influential spark in youth voting patterns —was an increased divide between youth and a belief in democratic institutions.

“While all age groups have grown increasingly discontent with the American democratic system in recent years,” said Iruela Lane, “The dissatisfaction is significant among younger people.”

Prior to the 2024 election, only 27% of Gen Z respondents strongly agreed that democracy is the best form of government, compared to 69% of voters over 58, she explained. “Now, less than one-third of Americans under 30 trust the government. Only 16% believe democracy is working well for young people.”

How establishment politics lost their luster

Richer asked the panel if this move to the right was a trend or an anomalous blip.

Micah English, a PhD candidate at Yale University, who has researched the multiracial right, felt that the Democratic party held the answer.

“If Democrats pick another candidate who veers towards establishment politics, whose talking points are about protecting institutions and going back to things people have always known, I do think we might see this trend of young people continuing to defect to the Republican Party,” said English.

“If you look at the defection from the Democratic Party in 2024, a lot of that was Black men and young Latino men. We are seeing this in data and seeing it in conversations we are having,” said English.

This is particularly true for the left, she said, noting a sense of pessimism about the potential institutions to achieve justice for the groups of people that the left is fighting for. “If you think these institutions are failing us, then you need to go out and create different institutions and not engage with electoral politics at all.”

Evan Doerr, Harvard College student and chairman of the Conservative Coalition at the Institute of Politics, also agreed that young voters are disillusioned by Democrats.

“I think the youth vote has always been driven by a sense of juvenile rebelliousness,” said Doerr. While conservatives in the past, he said, found a lot of refuge in democratic politics, they have been increasingly critical that the establishment became progressive.

Conservative voters, said Doerr, were drawn to candidates and movements who were skeptical of American institutions or stances that were “outright critical of the country’s moral and social order.”

And he noted, the Biden years felt stale to a lot of young voters.

“The president was visibly old, the economy was strained by inflation, we couldn’t build things, and many young people obviously felt that they weren’t going to have the same opportunity as their parents,” said Doerr. He wasn’t sure if it was affection for Donald Trump driving the shift as much as it was exhaustion with the establishment.

“The Republican party in ’24 managed to channel that. I would say [the shift to the right] is less of an anomaly but more of an inflection point.”

Dakota Hall is the executive director for Alliance for Youth Action and works with young voters and young civic leaders on the political left. He also agreed that the Democratic Party has become stale: “It has become too out of touch with the mainstream efforts of young people across the board.”

But he also said that the fact that young people overwhelmingly disapproved of Trump’s performance so far shows a lack of confidence in government. “They are frustrated and so they are going to be against whoever's in power.”

Richer asked how panelists felt the Republican Party has changed over the years. Doerr felt Trump has managed to balance the different sides of the Republican party—interventions and isolationists on foreign policy, skeptics of the regulatory state and tariff-heavy trade policies—to bring the party together.

“The one thing about Trump,” said Doerr, “Is that he is very good at manipulating and holding together parts of his coalition.” But he reiterated, “The big story is with the youth vote and the sense of rebelliousness among the youth.”

The role of social media and influencers

Richer then moved to the media, asking specifically “Where are Gen Z voters consuming news?”

English cited a recent Media Matters report that tracked leading influencers over social media. “They found that right-leaning influencers have nine out of 10 of the most popular podcasts and shows,” she said, explaining that young people get their news online and from social media and that their politics fare is driven by emotions and algorithms.

Hall said, “What we are seeing with Gen Z voters is that they are not consuming news; they are absorbing narratives.”

It is not the traditional news ecosystem at play, he said. “Instead of reading an article in the New York Times, they are going to their favorite influencer, their favorite content creator, or YouTube streamer,” said Hall. “They are getting ‘personal’ insights, feeling a connection. It’s not necessarily telling you how to think or what to say; it is more about building a relationship with you.”

This kind of online space can be liberating, said Hall. “You don’t have to walk into a room and be afraid you are going to say something wrong.” He pointed to a recent article in Politico that leaked text messages from many conservative youth leaders that were highly inflammatory, invoking Nazism and racism.

Doerr didn’t address the Politico article directly, but did agree with Hall that influencers, such as Charlie Kirk, who was recently assassinated, and social media, reach young voters where they are.

“This sort of decentralized media ecosystem has helped drive a lot of young people to vote,” said Doerr. “You hear things that aren’t being talked about by the news or being misrepresented by mainstream outlets,” he said.

Gender and politics

“What I think it has come down to is men and the change we’ve seen in the widening gender gap,” Doerr said.

“I think the Democratic Party’s vision for men has been to be more like women. That’s really been the cultural message: you are not really supposed to embrace masculinity. It’s more about politics of equality,” said Doerr. “I think that didn’t necessarily resonate with a lot of male voters. The idea that you have control over your own circumstances and with enough work, you can rise above and lead your family.”

Young men, said Doerr, felt pushed out of politics, left out of the cultural movements, and identified as second-class allies to the movements that the left was trying to build. The Democratic Party contributed to this dynamic, said Doerr, leaving many young men out, especially in the 2024 election. “The Democratic Party, in their national elections, has very strict mandates on gender quotas in their party leadership.”

The group discussed future candidates—all panelists agreed that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is an exciting politician to watch—and whether democracy and faith in government will survive.

You can watch the complete webinar online.

Banner photography by AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

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