Biden's Young Dems Problem: 'They're Leaving in Droves'

President is getting pushback from junior members of his own party over Gaza deaths, Israel support
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2024 10:15 AM CDT
Biden's Young Dems Problem: 'They're Leaving in Droves'
President Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on Thursday.   (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

With the 2024 election just over six months away, President Biden is working with two big thorns in his side that threaten to damage his reelection bid: Israel's continued war against Hamas in Gaza, and the subsequent campus protests that are roiling colleges and universities across the US. Axios notes that the commander in chief is routinely heckled now at his various public appearances over these topics, but there's one group in particular that may prove especially worrisome for Biden: young voters from his own party, with support plummeting at an "increasing pace of concern," Elise Joshi of Gen-Z for Change tells the Hill. More:

  • Poll I: It's not great news for Biden on this front. A Harvard Youth Poll from last month showed that 45% of young adults ages 18 to 29 would vote for Biden, with 37% for Trump. For context, at this point in the 2020 election, Biden led Trump 60% to 30%.
  • Poll II: In a CNN poll released last month, Biden trailed Trump by 11 percentage points among voters under the age of 35; the poll does note that "Biden's deficit with voters in that group is driven largely by those who did not vote in 2020." Once that group was removed from the equation, it's Trump 47%, Biden 46%.

  • Tweet warning: The Washington Post calls attention to a tweet this week from the College Democrats of America, the DNC's college arm, which read, "College Democrats' votes are not to be taken for granted by the Democratic Party. We reserve the right to criticize our party when it fails to listen to us." The Post notes that this points out another challenge for Team Biden: "Even young people who are Democrats often aren't super strong Democrats."
  • Still: In a lengthier statement cited by the New York Times, the College Democrats stress that they're "committed to the reelection of President Biden and Democrats across down-ballot races in every corner of our nation."
  • James Carville: The Democratic strategist concurs that there are red flags. "It's horrifying our numbers among younger voters, particularly younger Blacks, younger Latinos ... younger people of color. Particularly males," he said in his podcast last month, per the New York Post. "We're not shedding them—they're leaving in ... droves."
  • Young progressives: Biden needs them in his corner, per NPR, which takes a look back at how Biden teamed up with former presidential rival Bernie Sanders four years ago, after Sanders dropped out of the race, to draw in voters from the Sanders camp. The outlet suggests he'll have to work even harder to do so this time around.
  • Voter chat: PBS talked with four young constituents in the expected swing state of Michigan, with only one of them saying they'd cast a vote for Biden. Check out their conversation here.
(More Election 2024 stories.)

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