Natalie Hanson
(CN) — Experts say Tuesday night’s sweeping Democrat victory marks the beginning of a ‘red wave’ as large numbers of Gen Z voters show concern for the rights of all Americans. poll predictions have been defied.
Across the U.S., congressional rule is still unresolved, and early results don’t count many votes, including those that were mailed in, but a Democrat victory is already sought. While candidates who embraced former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” about the election were broadly defeated, the Republican candidate who won on Tuesday won largely by distanced himself from the former president.
And 25-year-old Democrat Maxwell Frost appears to have secured a seat in the Orlando-based Florida House of Representatives. He was the first Gen Z member of Congress after working for the anti-gun violence group March for Our Lives.
Antonio Arellano, vice president of youth mobilization organization Next Gen America, tweeted that exit polls from the Edison Research national election pool show voters ages 18 to 29 are more than half in favor of the Democratic Party. said that it shows that it is the only age group that has
The Tufts Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement said Wednesday that youth turnout in 2022 is the second highest in the past 30 years in midterm elections, behind only the historic 31% voter turnout in 2018. reported a high probability of 12% overall in this election, roughly matching the 13% youth vote share in the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections.
These results are in line with a poll of 2,123 18- to 29-year-olds conducted this fall by the Harvard Kennedy School of Political Studies, which found that 40% were “sure” to vote in the midterm elections. 57% said they prefer Democratic control of Congress. .
A Harvard University poll predicted that young Americans under the age of 30 who live in battleground states are more likely to vote than those in traditional red and blue states. A majority of these voters agreed that their rights and those of others were being attacked.
About 28% of voters said inflation was the most important issue, but when adjusting for female voters only, abortion rights was the most important issue with 24% believing inflation to be their top priority. Only 21% are
A majority of Americans under 30 support the recent cancellation of $10,000 student loans, bipartisan gun control laws and anti-inflation laws. and 47% said Dobbs to undo Law vs Wade 54% are young women and it affects their lives negatively. Additionally, only 4% believe America has a healthy democracy, and 29% expect their vote to be compromised in some way.
“For many young Americans, abortion rights, the future of the planet, and democracy itself are all about this 11,” said Alan Chan, student chairman of the Harvard Poll Project when the poll results were released. The moon is at stake and we are acting accordingly.”
Setty Warren, interim director of the project, added: Elected officials should pay attention. ”
Robert Alexander, founder of the Institute for Civil and Public Policy, said in an interview that young voters are “notoriously fickle”, but that midterm elections are starting to turn out in large numbers.
“If the Democrats are to succeed in the election, they need their participation,” he said.
According to Alexander, pollsters are using digital or text surveys to reliably reach younger voters and are trying to set quotas to ensure that all age groups are included in the sample. Through social media, we have access to more information about elections than previous generations.
“They also have a great interest in politics and are politically mature, especially in turbulent times when the stakes of who wins or loses seem incredibly high,” he said.
Kamy Akhavan, executive director of the USC Dornlife Center for the Political Future, said he believes it’s too early to know how much difference Gen Z voters have made. Some exit polls show only 10% of voters under 30, slightly less than in the last midterm elections.
But “Gen Z has made its voice heard by showing up in near-record numbers and overwhelmingly voting for Democratic candidates who support issues they care about. They are more anti-Trump and anti-Republican than Trump or Democrats,” Akhavan said.
With most but senior voters ignoring spam calls, emails, texts and doorstep visits during the election season, all experts agree that voting is becoming more difficult than ever. Agreed. But Akavan also said Generation Z is more educated than its predecessors and has been through the Great Recession, record political polarization, pandemics, worsening climate change and “racial unrest.” said.
“The reason red ripple against red wave was slightly higher numbers of women, Generation Z, people of color, and independents who supported abortion rights, the president’s party lost a large number of presidents. Because it partially offset the historical trend: midterm seats,” Akhavan said.
Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, said the Republican focus on economic instability was a reflection of Roe v. Wade’s overthrow and its return to democracy. He said he believes he may not have overcome Democrats’ concerns about the threat. Abortion rights may prove to be the most important issue for Gen Z, but they may be overlooked by media reports that use unreliable surveys to predict a ‘red wave’. There is a nature.
“I don’t know if many journalists have the training to evaluate research studies and decide which polls are junk and which aren’t,” he said.
Farnsworth also said that heading into the 2024 election, Republicans should realize that many candidates who align strongly with Trump and the “big lie” have not won big, especially among younger voters. thinking about.
“The election has already shown that a candidate’s experience and character are very important,” he said. “Trump’s backlash is at least as strong as Trump’s support.”
EFB Advocacy Republican Strategist John Feehery said: A real surprise to say the least. ”
When asked if Republican strategists learned anything from the results, he replied, “Don’t trust the polls!”
