Younger voters are increasingly leaning right, according to recent polls.
Exit polling following the election indicates that President-elect Donald Trump received 44% of the vote among those under the age of 30.
In 2020, Trump received 36% of the vote from that demographic.
CNN’s exit polling of more than 22,000 voters found that Vice President Kamala Harris led Trump with Gen Z by only 11 points. During the 2020 election, President Joe Biden led Trump among younger voters by 24 points.
David B. Cohen, a professor of political science at Ohio’s University of Akron, told Newsweek, “Young voters compose a crucial part of the Democratic base and if that is eroding, where do they make up for that? The declining level of enthusiasm for Harris among young voters absolutely played a part in her electoral defeat.”
A rightward shift has also been reported among young Europeans. A recent study on German youth found that those between the ages of 14-29 are becoming more inclined to prefer right-wing beliefs.
Due to stress about their health and economic situation, young people are favoring right-leaning parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the study described.
“We see a clear shift to the right among 14- to 29-year-olds,” said Klaus Hurrelmann, an author of the study and Professor of Public Health and Education at the Hertie School. “While the parties of the current German government continue to fall in favour, the AfD is becoming particularly popular.”
American Faith reported that the AfD saw historic gains in two state elections.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose party was not successful in the state elections, called the results “bitter.”
“The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz told Reuters. His left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPD), was projected to win about 8% of the vote in Thuringia.
