Vice President Kamala Harris owns a “commanding lead” over former President Donald Trump in a recent Harvard Kennedy School of Government poll focused on young people. In the 18-to-29-year-old group surveyed, Harris beats Trump in landslide fashion, 64 percent to 32 percent among likely voters in “a two-way hypothetical scenario.”
Yet in an election that is expected to be decided by potentially razor thin margins in critical battleground states, Republicans have another reason, Harvard reveals, to be concerned: the GOP’s efforts to get out the vote appear to be lagging similar efforts by Democrats since Harris was elevated to the top of the ticket.
Bullet-pointing some of the key findings, the Institute of Politics poll reveals “a significant enthusiasm gap between young Democrats and Republicans, with 74% of young Democrats saying they will ‘definitely’ vote, compared to 60% of young Republicans.”
NEW TODAY: The 48th Edition of the Harvard Youth Poll finds Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by 31 points among likely young voters, and reveals rising Democratic enthusiasm with 74% of young Democrats ‘definitely’ voting.
View full results https://t.co/sOT1UURWrU pic.twitter.com/rvw1qxNPqI
— Institute of Politics (@HarvardIOP) September 24, 2024
That translates into 40 percent of those identifying as young Republicans revealing they are not committed to getting to the voting booth this fall, with just 16 percent of young Harris supporters saying the same.
That drastic difference may be explained in part by another — perhaps surprising — revelation: even young Republicans aren’t in favor of the controversial Project 2025, with “14% viewing it favorably and 23% unfavorably.”
Notably, the ‘Fall 2024 Harvard Youth Poll‘ was conducted from September 4-16, just weeks after the Democratic National Convention re-introduced Harris to the nation, with the Trump-Harris live TV debate — which many believed Harris won — landing right in the middle of the timeframe, on September 10. Harvard surveyed “2,002 young Americans between 18 and 29 years old nationwide.”