In the weeks following President Biden’s decision to bow out of the 2024 race, Vice President Harris got a boost of support among voters, particularly those under 30.
That boost came after Biden had been struggling in the polls with young voters, a voting bloc that sided with him by a 24-point margin four years ago. Now, while Harris continues to lead former President Donald Trump among voters under 30, it’s unclear if she can mirror Biden’s 2020 youth support.
In the latest NPR/PBS/Marist poll, Harris holds a 13-point advantage among likely voters under 35. But four years earlier, in NPR’s final poll before the election, Biden led Trump by 36 points among likely voters under 30. It's a drop reflected in recent national polling focused on young voters as well.
Terrance Woodbury is a Democratic pollster and senior adviser to the Harris campaign. In an interview before the release of NPR’s latest poll, he argued Harris has effectively maintained enthusiasm among young voters and is working to repair a “generation gap” Democrats had earlier this year.
“We've seen her consolidating that Biden coalition that was frankly eroding a bit before the transition at the top of the ticket,” he said, adding Harris has made a point to visit large college towns in swing states, including Ann Arbor, Mich., and Madison, Wis.
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