Tide Breaks with Vast Wave of Support for Trump and Conservatives Among Youngest Voters

By Bill Wilson

Despite Democrats long controlling the youth vote, a dam of support has broken for conservatives in the wake of the 2024 election, and young people are now more bullish on President Donald J. Trump and conservatives than any other age group. 

According to the latest YouGov survey, President Trump’s popularity has soared ten points in one month, from just 38 percent the week before the general election to 48 percent today. He is now sitting at his highest approval rating among young Americans.    

Voters under age 30 now support the President by twelve points, 52 percent to 40 percent, the highest level of support for any age group in the country. Trump’s favorability is underwater by four points among voters aged 30-44, with 44 percent holding a favorable view of him while 48 percent hold an unfavorable view. Voters aged 45-64 support Trump by one percentage point, 49 percent to 48 percent. Older voters hold an unfavorable view of Trump by six points, 52 percent to 46 percent, according to the survey.

It isn’t only President Trump who is enjoying a swell of support from young people. The Republican Party’s highest rating among any age group is with voters under 30. Favorability for the GOP itself has risen a sweeping fifteen percentage points among young people, going from 35 percent to 50 percent in one month. Young people give the GOP a favorable rating by fifteen points, 50 percent to 35 percent, the highest of any age group.

Unsurprisingly, America’s youngest voters are expressing much more conservative views on a range of issues from economic to cultural now that Trump has been elected.

For example, the YouGov data shows young people support Trump’s call to drop the corporate tax rate six points, from 21 percent to 15 percent, by an eight-point margin, 38 percent to 30 percent. In terms of energy independence, young people support the President’s call to allow drilling on U.S. land by eight points, 41 percent to 33 percent.

On immigration, young voters are showing a desire to secure the border. Voters under 30 support Trump’s call to complete the wall along the U.S.-Mexican border by a thirteen-point margin, 49 percent to 36 percent.

Young voters are also showing more conservative stances on politically contentious cultural issues, including transgender issues. Voters under 30 now reject allowing transgender athletes to play in women’s sports by a broad eighteen-point margin, 48 percent to 30 percent.   

While we have covered the broad gender gap among young voters extensively – with data showing young men are moving to the right at a more rapid pace than young women – the 2024 election reveals women moved right too, just at a smaller scale.

Despite being the target audience of Kamala Harris’ campaign, young women supported Harris by a much smaller margin than they did Biden four years ago. 

As Peachy Keenan, the author of “Domestic Extremist” points out in a recent article, women moved to the right this election too. While Harris won women by 7 points, that is a far cry from the twelve points Biden won them by in 2020.

What is more, while Harris did win the 18–29-year-old female demographic this year, they moved to the right by a seven-point margin.  

Yes, despite her “Brat” campaign targeted at young women, Harris was much less appealing to young women than Biden was four years ago. Keenan also points out that among the youngest voter demographic – 18-24 – young women shifted the most toward Trump, moving eleven points to the right compared to 2020.  

There are many reasons for this shift among young people. Young people are heavily prioritizing the economy and are more favorable of conservative-populist approaches to economic issues including lowering corporate tax rates and unleashing energy independence.

Young women are experiencing first-hand the results of left-wing extremism when it comes to men invading women’s sports and spaces and Democrat policies that import criminals into the country. And lastly, it is now more “Ok” to admit you are a conservative, even among America’s youngest, college-campus dwelling voters.

Because President Trump won the popular vote, it is now evident that over half of the country agrees with his common-sense approach to putting America First, and young people who have supported the President from the shadows are now able to share their views more freely.

I doubt ideological leftism on college campuses is going to disappear anytime soon, but I would argue it is more politically acceptable to be a young conservative in 2024 than say, four or eight years ago. The world of academia has a long way to go before it is cleansed of militant leftism, but there is safety in numbers and more young people are voting conservative these days.

The Republican Party is also enjoying an increase in favorability among America’s youngest voters who have suffered under Democrat lawmakers’ approach to crime, immigration, gender issues and the economy. The year ahead could be the best year for conservatives to embody the form of leadership that will rally young voters to conservative, America First principles for the long-term.  

Bill Wilson is the former president of Americans for Limited Government.