Harvard Poll of Young Voters Finds Biden with Wide Lead Over Trump, But Just 9% Think Country Is Moving in Right Direction

AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura (L)/AP Photo/Alex Brandon (R)

President Joe Biden holds a wide lead over Donald Trump among registered young voters, according to a new Harvard poll.

The biannual Harvard Institute of Politics Youth survey was released Thursday, first shared with Politico, showing Biden pulling 50% support among voters 30 years or younger compared to Trump’s 37%. Among voters most likely to vote in November, Biden leads with 56% compared to Trump’s 37%.

Biden easily topped Trump in support in the survey, but the data also showed young voters are not happy with the direction of the country.

Just 9% said the country is “generally headed in the right direction.” Nearly 60% said the country is on the “wrong track.” Another 32% said they are unsure, and 21% believe the country is on the right track.

Among the issues concerning these voters is the Israel-Hamas war. Biden has faced increased pressure from his own party to support a ceasefire amid Israel’s strikes on Gaza. Israel has said the strikes will not stop until the terror group of Hamas is eliminated. Thousands of civilians have died in Gaza, including seven aid workers recently, increasing calls for a ceasefire.

According to Harvard’s findings, 51% of young voters support a ceasefire and only 10% oppose.

More than 50% also believe there is a crisis at the southern border, but only 36% agree with Trump’s longheld plan to build a border wall. Another 45% oppose the building of a border wall.

Young women and men respond to Trump and Biden in fairly different ways, according to the poll, as Biden’s lead among young women voters is a massive 33%, but that lead shrinks to just 6% among young men.

The Harvard survey was conducted from March 14-21 among more than 2,000 voters aged 18-29. It carries a margin of error of 3%.