The Daily Populous Saturday July 27th, 2024 night edition
Authored by newsweek.com and submitted by newsweek

Kamala Harris has leaped ahead of Donald Trump in a new poll looking at the support of America's youngest voters, aged 18 to 34.

Respondents, which represented all Gen Z voters and younger millennials, were asked who they would vote for in a head-to-head between Harris and Trump; 60 percent opted for the vice president, while only 40 percent picked Trump.

When asked the same question if Biden were the Democratic nominee, Trump's support among young voters increased to 47 percent, as only 53 percent supported the current president serving a second term.

The poll by Axios/Generation Lab was conducted between July 22 and July 24, just after President Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and publicly endorsed Harris on July 21.

Since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, she has gained popularity on social media, becoming the face of various memes, embracing the endorsement of singer Charlie XCX, and joining TikTok, where she amassed over 1 million followers just hours after posting her first video.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, July 25, 2024. Harris is edging up her... Vice President Kamala Harris speaks following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, July 25, 2024. Harris is edging up her support in the latest polls, and has beaten Joe Biden's polling record, securing the Democrats 46% of public support in one of the polls. More Julia Nikhinson/AP

The poll also asked participants to rate Harris, Biden, and Trump on a scale of favorability, with Harris coming out on top again — 45 percent of respondents found her somewhat or extremely favorable, compared to 33 percent who said the same of Biden, and 34 percent of Trump. Trump also had the highest percentage of respondents — 42 percent — say they found him "extremely unfavorable."

The poll also asked who the young voters thought Harris should choose to be her running mate. The highest portion of respondents (38 percent) said they were unsure, although among those who did have an opinion Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, came out on top with 14 percent, closely followed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Since Biden's withdrawal and endorsement of Harris, the vice president has thrown herself into campaigning to secure the Democratic Party nomination to run against Trump in the November election, and has reportedly accumulated more than enough support from Democratic delegates to run.

The polls have repeatedly shown a swing in Harris' favor. Earlier this week she overtook Trump with 44 percent to his 42 percent support in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. A separate Morning Consult poll placed her at 46 percent support, 1 percent ahead of Trump and the highest support for Democrats since tracking began in 2022.

With her campaigning gradually pushing up support in the latest polls, speculation has also mounted about her potential running mates. According to a Public Policy poll before Biden withdrew from the election, Josh Shapiro was the favorite choice. Since then, the betting platform Polymarket has shown Arizona senator Mark Kelly has become the most popular choice.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.

kungfoojesus on July 26th, 2024 at 13:56 UTC »

I can’t imagine being so young and thinking “yeah Trump sounds good”. 40%. That’s absolutely insane

NoteChoice7719 on July 26th, 2024 at 13:36 UTC »

Only 60-40 in favour of Harris over Trump for Gen Z? Under 28s? Seems low

DaveChild on July 26th, 2024 at 13:36 UTC »

> Respondents, which represented all Gen Z voters and younger millennials, were asked who they would vote for in a head-to-head between Harris and Trump; 60 percent opted for the vice president, while only 40 percent picked Trump.

> When asked the same question if Biden were the Democratic nominee, Trump's support among young voters increased to 47 percent, as only 53 percent supported the current president serving a second term

Huge swing.