Youth vote in the news: Week of 1/2

An analysis of what young people are really craving from politics. Another look at the Gen Zers running for Congress in 2024. And conversations with young Republicans in Iowa.

Happy new year, and welcome to 2024. With the Iowa Caucus just under two weeks away and the New Hampshire primary the week after that, election season is heating up — fast.

Before the action kicks into high gear, I want to take a moment to thank you for reading The Up and Up. When I launched this newsletter in September 2022, I wasn’t sure where it would take me. Since then, I’ve reported from battleground states (and Washington, D.C.) and published nearly 80 editions detailing youth-led protests and walkouts, news about the youngest candidates for office, and debates and elections. But the reality is, we’re just getting started.

At risk of sounding cheesy, I can’t do this without your support, ideas, and feedback. So please keep it coming!

Between now and November 5th, I hope to visit as many more states as possible to chat with young Americans across the political spectrum. Frats at the University of Wisconsin? In line at a concert in Pittsburgh? A happy hour in Ohio? Hillel and the Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Michigan? A basketball game at the University of North Carolina? Bars off-campus near the University of Arizona? These are just some of my ideas... nothing’s off limits. If you have a suggestion or think I should come check out your neck of the woods, please let me know, and I’ll aim to be there.

In the meantime, here are this week's youth vote headlines.

From more reporting on President Joe Biden’s youth vote problem, to an analysis of what young people are really craving from politics, another look at the Gen Zers running for Congress in 2024, and conversations with young Republicans in Iowa who are asking the top GOP contenders to listen and respond to their concerns, there’s a common through line. Young Americans’ current dissatisfaction with the political status quo isn’t really about any one party or politician, but rather a product of a broader frustration with a seemingly outdated political system. That could spell trouble for both Democrats and Republicans in 2024.

Buckle up.

Gen Z seeks to grow ranks in Congress, Julia Mueller for The Hill, 1/1

Following in the footsteps of Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, Cheyenne Hunt of California and Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel are running for Congress in 2024. Both 26-years-old Democrats, Hunt and Vogel believe it’s time to expand representation for the next generation, Mueller reports.

“Young people, as we’ve gotten more and more involved, are frankly devastated that this is the state of government that we are inheriting — and that we have to really pick up this work and try to put the pieces back together,” said Hunt, who’s vying to represent California’s 45th district.

Vogel, who would be the first openly LGBTQ Gen Zer in Congress, said he’s been “frustrated by the inaction” and cited frustrations with issues like gun violence and climate change. Vogel is running in Maryland’s 6th district. “I think our entire generation is having this moment where we’re channeling that energy and channeling that urgency into having more political representation in terms of the issues,” he said.

A fraying coalition: Black, Hispanic, young voters abandon Biden as election year begins, Susan Page, Savannah Kuchar, and Sudiksha Kochi for USA Today, 1/1

“Among voters under 35, a generation largely at odds with the GOP on issues such as abortion access and climate change, Trump now leads 37%-33%. Younger voters overwhelmingly backed Biden in 2020,” Page, Kuchar, and Kochi report — detailing the findings of a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll.

“The possible good news for the president is that much of the support he needs to rebuild has drifted to third-party candidates, not into the camp of his likely opponent. Twenty percent of Hispanic and Black voters, and 21% of young voters, now say they'll back someone other than the two main contenders,” they report.

Opinion: What Are Young Voters Looking For?, Michelle Cottle for The New York Times, 12/31

Addressing Biden’s struggle to gain support from younger voters, Cottle sets out to answer what it really is that young voters are craving from their elected officials. Cottle says that while the equation of how to engage younger voters isn’t a new phenomenon, the potential ramifications of young people sitting out this cycle are perilous.

“Spoiler: There is no secret formula. Or rather, there is a whole host of formulas with scores of constantly shifting variables. Millennials and Gen Z-ers don’t just expect different things from candidates than do older voters; they approach the entire concept of voting differently, generally in ways that make them harder to persuade and mobilize,” she writes.

Quoting experts like Lake Research Partners’ Joshua Ulibarri, Harvard Kennedy School IOP pollster John Della Volpe, and the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts (CIRCLE)’s Abby Kiesa, Cottle determines that:

“Younger Americans aren’t convinced that government can make meaningful progress. Some days it is hard to blame them. But this cynicism has terrible implications for democracy, and all of us would do well to fight it.”

Young Iowa Republicans Raise Their Voices. Will Their Party Listen?, Kellen Browning and Anjali Huynh for the New York Times, 12/28

As GOP candidates court voters in Iowa, young Republicans in the state explain the slate of issues influencing their preferences. While former President Donald Trump leads the field in state polls, young Iowans have varying priorities (from the economy, to free speech, and “the rise of ‘cancel culture’”), and some are backing other, younger candidates.

“While many Generation Z Republicans, born between 1997 and 2012, grew up during the Trump presidency and say they are sticking by him, interviews with nearly 20 young voters in Iowa indicated that some were ready to move on to other candidates who they believed could more easily beat Mr. Biden, without the personal baggage that has dogged Mr. Trump for years,” Browning and Huynh report.

Opinion: Avert Your Eyes, Avoid Responsibility and Just Blame TikTok, Zeynep Tufekci for the New York Times, 12/27

Ahead of the 2024 election season Tufekci explores the current debate over TikTok’s role in informing young people’s opinions on the war between Israel and Hamas and frustration with the current state of the U.S. economy.

“There’s no question that there’s antisemitic content and lies on TikTok and on other platforms. I’ve seen many outrageous clips about Hamas’s actions on Oct. 7 that falsely and callously deny the horrific murders and atrocities. And I do wish we knew more about exactly what people were seeing on TikTok: Without meaningful transparency, it’s hard to know the scale and scope of such content on the platform,” Tufekci writes. “But I’m quite skeptical that young people would be more upbeat about the economy and the war in Gaza if not for viral videos.”

She points to the role of social media in the 2008 and 2012 elections, arguing that since its inception, advocates, thought leaders, and academics like her have called for more accountability from tech giants. But she says it’s not social media and a lack of legislation to regulate it alone that’s the problem.

“Social media has never been some magic wand that operates in a vacuum; its power is amplified when it strikes a chord with people’s own experiences and existing ideologies,” Tufekci says.

“Do we need proper oversight and regulation of social media? You bet. Do we need to find more effective ways of countering harmful lies and hate speech? Of course. But I can only conclude that despite the heated bipartisan rhetoric of blame, scapegoating social media is more convenient to politicians than turning their shared anger into sensible legislation,” Tufekci writes.