WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 voted for President-elect Donald Trump in this year’s election, but they came to his coalition with starkly different views and interests than older conservatives or most top Republican leaders.
Trump won nearly half of voters in this age group, compared with about a third in 2020, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. That means that while the youngest voters made up a relatively small share, about 15%, of his coalition, he was almost as strong among this group as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
VoteCast found that Trump’s younger voters were more motivated by the economy than immigration, were broadly concerned about climate change and wanted more government involvement in health care and student loan forgiveness.
That could determine the course Trump sets for his second term and how Republicans looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race will respond. The Republican Party has traditionally opposed broad action on climate change, health care or student loans. Trump, meanwhile, has promised to organize the largest deportation operation in US history and impose sweeping tariffs; actions that mainstream economists warn could drive up prices and cost jobs.
“Donald Trump’s rhetoric didn’t stop them from supporting him this time,” said Barrett Marson, a Republican strategist based in battleground state Arizona. “It sounds like the economic problems were beyond everything. So if Donald Trump delivers on his economic promises, will young people stay with the Republicans? That is a question we cannot answer now.”
More moderate and less motivated by immigration
Trump made an impression among younger voters, but this was not accompanied by a major ideological shift. According to AP VoteCast, just over half of Trump voters under 30 said they were somewhat or very conservative, compared to about 8 in 10 Trump voters 65 and older.
While most younger Trump voters identified with his “Make America Great Again” movement, they were less likely to say they were MAGA Republicans than older Trump voters.
Younger Trump voters’ motivations for voting this year also looked different than those of older Trump voters. About six-in-ten Trump voters age 65 and older said the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border was the most important issue affecting their vote, compared with about a third of Trump voters under 30.
Younger Trump voters were more focused on the economy. About half of these voters said the economy and jobs are the most important issues facing the country, compared with about four in 10 older Trump voters.
Many younger Trump voters want big government
A second Trump administration could focus on government programs and services such as Affordable Care Act subsidies, but that may not be popular with his younger supporters.
Trump voters under 30 were almost evenly split on whether the government should do more to solve people’s problems. Just under half agreed, while about half said the government does too many things that are better left to businesses and individuals. That compares with about 2 in 10 Trump voters age 65 and older who said the government should do more, and about 8 in 10 who said the government was doing too many things.
There is a larger age gap among Trump voters on this issue than in 2020, when about six in 10 Trump voters under 30 said the government was doing too many things that should be left to corporations and individuals, compared to about three-quarters of Trump voters aged 65 and older.
Two issues, health care and debt relief, could be particularly big sticking points for Trump’s younger supporters. More than half of them want the government to be more involved in health care, compared with about three in 10 older Trump voters. There is a similar divide over whether the government should be more involved in canceling medical debt.
Trump has criticized Democratic President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness program, though Trump has not indicated how he will address the issue. Nearly half of 18- to 29-year-old Trump voters strongly or somewhat support the government canceling student debt for more people, compared with about 1 in 10 Trump voters over 65.
Climate change is a major concern
Trump has said he will focus on some of the national climate policies that climate change experts say are most effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. About 6 in 10 Trump voters under the age of 30 were somewhat or very concerned about the impacts of climate change in their community, compared to about 3 in 10 Trump voters age 65 and older.
Younger Trump voters were much more divided over how the US should approach energy policy, with a significant share backing the kind of investment in alternative energy that Trump has promised to roll back.
Just over half wanted the U.S. to expand fossil fuel production as Trump has promised, compared with about 8 in 10 Trump voters aged 65 and older. And about 4 in 10 Trump voters under 30 wanted the U.S. to focus on expanding the use of alternative energy, compared with 14% of Trump voters 65 and older.
Tariffs and tough immigration policies are less popular
Another potential problem for Trump: The tariffs he has promised are another dividing line among his voters. Just under half of Trump voters under 30 are somewhat or strongly opposed to tariffs, while about 8 in 10 Trump voters over 65 are in favor.
His immigration policies could also be an issue for some younger Trump supporters. About half of Trump voters under 30 strongly support reducing the number of people who can seek asylum at the border, compared to about 8 in 10 Trump voters 65 and older.
More than four-in-ten Trump voters under 30 say immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be given the opportunity to apply for legal status, compared to about two-in-ten Trump voters age 65 and older. There was no age gap on this question among Trump voters in 2020.
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Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
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AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, PBS NewsHour, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey of more than 120,000 voters lasted eight days and ended when the polling stations closed. The interviews took place in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters from state voter files; self-identified registered voters using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population; and self-identified registered voters selected from online panels who are not likely to vote. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated at plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. Find more details about APVoteCast’s methodology at https://www.ap.org/elections/our-role/ap-votecast/
