Most Young Voters Support Harris Over Trump, New Harvard IOP Youth Poll Finds

Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald Trump by 31 percentage points among likely young voters, according to the latest iteration of the Harvard Institute of Politics Youth Poll.

The poll, released by the Harvard Public Opinion Project Tuesday morning, found 61 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds nationwide voting for Harris, 30 percent voting for Trump, and 9 percent expressing support for other candidates or undecided — with Harris leading by double digits on key issues including abortion, climate change, and gun violence.

When the IOP last conducted the poll in March — before President Joe Biden stepped out of the race — only 50 percent of likely young voters said they would vote for Biden.

“In just a few weeks, Vice President Harris has drummed up a wave of enthusiasm among young voters,” Anil Cacodcar ’26, chair of HPOP, said in a press release. “Harris is enjoying a perfect storm of personal appeal, policy support, and positive reach on social media.”

The results released Tuesday were gathered between Sept. 4–16 and come from the first of two polls HPOP plans to conduct in the run-up to the presidential elections on Nov. 5, which is 42 days from Tuesday.

In addition to policy issues, Harris leads Trump on several “presidential qualities” tested for by HPOP, including empathy by 33 percentage points, relatability by 24 percentage points, honesty by 22 percentage points, and competence by 19 percentage points.

Young women and young Black voters especially appear to be driving the surge in Harris’ popularity, according to the poll. While the poll found both young men and women have shifted toward the Democratic ticket since HPOP’s last poll in March, young women have been throwing their support behind Harris at nearly double the rate as young men.

“She’s built a large margin among young women, young Black Americans,” said Kritika Nagappa ’26, a research team lead for HPOP who worked on the poll.

Support for Harris has also been fueled by a widening gap in voting enthusiasm between young Democrats and Republicans, with the poll finding that 74 percent of young Democrats are “definitely” voting in November — 14 percentage points more than young Republicans.

Social media has proved especially effective in pushing young voters toward the Harris camp, according to the poll. Memes about Harris positively influenced 34 percent of polled young adults and negatively influenced only 16 percent, while Trump memes had a positive impact on only 13 percent of young voters and a negative impact on 26 percent.

The poll also found that Project 2025 — a far-right presidential transition project that Democrats have tried to pin to Trump — is widely unpopular among young voters. Only 6 percent of American youth view the platform favorably, compared with 48 percent who view it unfavorably, according to the poll. Even among Republicans, only 14 percent support Project 2025.

John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the IOP, said the “poll reveals a significant shift in the overall vibe and preferences of young Americans as the campaign heads into the final stretch.”

“Vice President Harris has strengthened the Democratic position among young voters, leading Trump on key issues and personal qualities,” Della Volpe said. “Gen Z and young millennials’ heightened enthusiasm signals a potentially decisive role for the youth vote in 2024.”

—Staff writer William C. Mao can be reached at william.mao@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @williamcmao.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.