Constance Lancelle, 22, of Milwaukee, was “absolutely not interested in voting for Biden,” she said. But with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, she said, “I feel like politics has been a dream.”
Sierra Sanson, 23, of Medford, New Jersey, had planned to vote for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, or not at all. Now she’s happy to support Harris: “She’s a tough woman who I want to see succeed.”
Emily Baumel, 27, of Madison, Wisconsin, had not planned to vote for president but will now vote for Harris: “I have a lot less fear; I like how much hope she gives people.”
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Harris’ candidacy has reinvigorated many Democrats and independents — and young women in particular. Their newfound enthusiasm is evident in interviews and early polling in swing states and nationwide.
As a group, young women would never support Donald Trump in the election, according to national polling from The New York Times/Siena College. But that didn’t always mean they supported President Joe Biden. His support among both women and young people (18 to 29), crucial to his 2020 victory, was already slipping before he left the race.
It’s still early in Harris’s candidacy and the number of voters polled is too small to draw definitive conclusions, but so far she appears to be winning back many of them.
Times/Siena polls of voters in six swing states this month found that young women were on average 10 percentage points more likely to support Harris than they were in May, when they backed Biden.
In those states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — 67% of young women now said they planned to vote for her, compared with 29% for Trump. A greater share of them back Harris in the Times/Siena polls than any other age and gender group.
Young men were 5 points more likely to support Harris than Biden. But 53% planned to vote for Trump, and 40% for Harris.
Recent national polls from Ipsos and Marquette Law School showed a similar shift among young women. “The historic summer we’ve had has brought a number of young women off the sidelines and into the election,” said Sarah Feldman, a senior data journalist at Ipsos. “Overall, these are more marginal shifts, but with an incredibly close election, these small, decisive swings in support can matter.”
We called back young women who told Times/Siena pollsters this month that they supported Harris. Of the eight we contacted for follow-up interviews, none said they planned to vote for Trump, but all said they planned to sit out the election, vote for a third-party candidate or reluctantly vote for Biden.
“I would be proud to see her as president of this country, whereas with Biden I was shy about that idea,” Sanson said.
For many young women, Biden and Trump were the only presidential candidates they were old enough to vote for, and they said it left them feeling untrustworthy and discouraged.
Eloisa Gloria, 22, who studies illustration at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, said she used to feel “disillusioned” with politics. Now she’s excited.
“This is the first time I’ve voted and really felt positive about the candidate,” she said. “I think Kamala is incredibly intelligent and she’s going to care about our well-being much more than just winning the election.”
She has watched livestreams of Harris’s rallies, she said, and likes her ideas to pay teachers more, prioritize abortion rights and address climate change.
“This was actually one of the first elections where I thought, honestly, I can’t shame people who don’t vote,” said Areli Herrera, 25, a nonprofit worker in Milwaukee. “I get it.”
That changed with Harris’ candidacy, she said: “I felt a kind of relief.”
Herrera said Harris is more moderate than she is. She is wary of Harris’ background in law enforcement and was bothered when she snapped at pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted her at a rally. But she said she appreciates that center-left ideas could help Harris’ campaign win over moderate voters — and defeat Trump.
Harris’ choice of Tim Walz as her running mate bolstered her support: “She did what I was never able to do in my love life: She picked the right white man.”
None of the young women interviewed cited the fact that Harris is a woman or a person of color as the primary reason for their support, but some said it was a bonus.
Mina Kim, 27, of Duluth, Georgia, isn’t interested in politics and hadn’t planned to vote. But she saw several things she liked about the Harris campaign, including efforts to cap the price of insulin and her support for reproductive rights.
Kim, who is Asian American, didn’t realize Harris was of South Asian descent. “It wouldn’t be a reason to vote for her, but it would be cool,” she said. “She would be the first of many things.”
Overall, Gen Z women are “fiercely feminist and progressive,” more than any other group of Americans, said Melissa Deckman, a political scientist who is CEO of PRRI, a research firm, and author of the forthcoming book “The Politics of Gen Z.”
Baumel, a Madison native who works in health care, worries that Harris isn’t progressive enough, especially on the issues that matter most to her: student loans, health care and the war between Israel and Hamas.
But Harris has two major things in her favor, Baumel said: “First, she’s not a 70-year-old man or older. Second, I really like her VP pick. I’m from the Midwest, and I love seeing Midwestern dads.”
“Will I vote for her in four years?” she said. “I don’t know, but she’s worth a try.”
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