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In the latest iteration of the Harvard Youth Poll, conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, one-third of students between 18 and 29 said they feel uncomfortable sharing their political views on campus for fear of negative repercussions—a share that has climbed since 2015, when 13 percent responded that way.
Students who are Democrats were least likely to say they feel uncomfortable and more likely to say they had engaged in political activities, such as attending a rally or donating to a political campaign.
Approximately half of all young adults, including nonstudents, said they will “definitely be voting” in the 2024 general election for president, on par with 2020.
More respondents said they would vote for current U.S. President Joe Biden (45 percent) over former President Donald Trump (37 percent), a difference of eight percentage points. Among college students, Biden’s lead over Trump is even higher—23 percentage points—and among college graduates, it’s 47 percentage points. Still, at this stage in the 2020 election, Biden’s lead over Trump among all young adults was 23 points.
However, young adults voting for Trump tend to be significantly more excited about him as a candidate than Biden’s voters are for him; while 76 percent of those who say they are voting for Trump reported that they are enthusiastically supporting him, only 44 percent of those voting for Biden said the same about him.
The poll also examined young people’s perceptions of Israel’s war in Gaza. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they support a ceasefire, compared to only 10 percent who oppose. However, only 38 percent of those surveyed said they keep up with news about the war.
