How young Republicans voted in South Carolina and Olivia Rodrigo's "Fund 4 Good"
Early data shows that young voters preferred Trump by the highest margins of any age group in the South Carolina Republican primary. And Olivia Rodrigo is donating ticket sales to reproductive rights.
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts (CIRCLE) has already released its analysis of young Republicans’ vote preference in the the South Carolina GOP Primary last weekend — in which former President Donald Trump once again defeated former South Carolina Gov. and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (on her home turf).
Haley was governor in South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, which means that most young voters in the state grew up with her in the Governor’s Mansion. And yet — when it comes to Republican Party leadership, early data on how young people voted in South Carolina shows that young voters there preferred Trump by the highest margins of any age group, further cementing the idea that young Republicans have grown up with and opted into Trump's Republican Party. Many don't know politics without him. According to CIRCLE’s analysis from South Carolina, as well as New Hampshire and Iowa, it’s clear that young Republicans are some of his most loyal supporters.
Only 6% of young people ages 18-29 cast a ballot in South Carolina’s GOP primary — which is four points higher than Iowa but 10 points lower than New Hampshire. Relatively speaking , however, young people only accounted for 7% of South Carolina primary voters, which is less than both New Hampshire and Iowa — according to CIRCLE’s analysis of the National Election Pool exit poll conducted by Edison Research.
Proving Trump’s pull with young Republicans, 66% of young South Carolinians backed Trump — the highest share of any age group. Though it’s not an exact comparison (given that there were more candidates in the 2016 field) Trump increased his margins with young voters in South Carolina this time around (amongst young voters in 2016, Trump came in second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 26% of the youth vote).
Beyond vote preference, the low percentage of young people who voted in the primary and the small youth vote share arguably tells us more about how young people are feeling about the 2024 election.
Though CIRCLE notes that South Carolina’s had “relatively poor” youth voter turnout in recent election cycles, youth voter turnout in the 2024 GOP primary “was the lowest since 2004, and the youth share of the vote was the lowest we have estimated since 1996.”
Oof.
A pop culture moment for abortion access
21-year-old pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo is no stranger to civic engagement. In 2020, she helped the Biden administration promote Covid-19 vaccinations with a high-profile trip to the White House and aviator photo-op with President Joe Biden. In 2022, she teamed up with voter engagement group I am a Voter and wore a bedazzled ‘vote’ shirt to a Glossier makeup collection launch. She’s also previously advocated for abortion access on stage — famously dedicating a rendition of ‘F-ck you’ with Lily Allen to the five Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But in a headline-making moment this weekend, Rodrigo announced her new ‘Fund 4 Good’ which “will directly support community-based nonprofits that champion things like girls’ education, support reproductive rights and prevent gender-based violence,” she said in an Instagram video before taking performing the first night of her tour. Rodrigo explained that portions from all ticket sales for her tour will benefit the Fund 4 Good, and for the North American leg of her tour, she’ll partner with the National Network of Abortion Funds.
While she wasn’t endorsing a specific candidate or policy with her announcement, Rodrigo’s issue advocacy sheds light on how celebrities and influencers may engage in politics beyond the ballot box this year.