Nov 16, 2024 Story by: Editor
Jen Iro, a 34-year-old Texas resident, has grown increasingly disillusioned with the state of American politics. Despite casting her last vote for former President Barack Obama, Iro is doubtful she’ll participate in this year’s election.
“[Politics are] not really important to me because as of right now, it seems to get worse and worse and worse, which really makes me more disinterested,” she shared.
Iro’s sentiments resonate with a growing number of millennials and Gen Z voters who feel alienated from political parties. Rising costs, affordable housing shortages, and the looming threat of climate change have left many feeling that the political system fails to address their needs. While young voters and Black Americans have historically leaned Democratic—92% of Black voters supported President Biden in 2020 compared to 8% for Donald Trump—recent trends suggest a shift.
Pew Research shows that among Black voters, Republican alignment is growing, particularly among younger generations. About 7% of Black voters over 50 identify as or lean Republican, compared to 17% under 50. How this trend impacts Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate, remains to be seen.
Though political ideologies typically shift conservatively with age, data suggests younger Black voters might already be more conservative. This trend could play a pivotal role in the 2024 election. Among the 40 million Gen Z voters eligible to vote in November—half of whom are people of color—nearly 6 million are Black.
Christopher Towler, an associate professor at California State University, Sacramento, and the principal investigator of the Black Voter Project, studies why young Black voters like Iro feel disconnected.
“[Black voters] know the importance of elections,” Towler noted. “They understand what it means to have representation. But at the same time, they don’t necessarily feel like they’re being represented by either side of the aisle right now.”
He believes many Black Americans see few tangible benefits from political “wins” touted by parties. For example, policies credited to the Biden administration, such as reducing Black unemployment or increasing small business loans, often fail to resonate with individuals’ day-to-day realities.
“I think there’s an overall sentiment that they want something to support, they really understand the importance of this moment,” Towler explained. “But at the same time, they’re not necessarily sure that their vote is going to change much.”
Towler’s national survey for the Black Voter Project revealed growing Republican support among young Black voters. Among respondents aged 18-29, 22% expressed intentions to vote for Trump in 2024, the highest percentage of any age group.
Towler attributes this shift partly to younger generations being further removed from the Civil Rights Movement.
“We’re getting into generations of young Black voters that are not just once removed, but maybe twice or three times removed from a civil rights generation,” Towler observed. “The way that they form their identity is less likely to be directly attached to the civil rights struggle…they’re less likely to be suspicious of political institutions and they’re more likely to support Trump and the Republicans.”
Bernard Fraga, associate professor at Emory University, sees this as part of a broader evolution among Black voters.
“The narrative that the Democrats kind of own the change issue, as in the idea that people who want things to be different than they are now, that’s been something that’s been true for a long time,” Fraga said. “Now, there’s some folks in the electorate, particularly young people, who see the Republican Party as representing change.”
This trend aligns with observations by R.C. Maxwell, a 35-year-old Republican from Arizona, who has witnessed a shift in party outreach since Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign.
“We want prosperity and we want secure borders and we want the American dream,” Maxwell said. “And only the Republican Party is speaking to this message because they have policies in terms of limited government. Drill, baby, drill.”
Kiah Hopkins, a 20-year-old from Georgia, plans to vote Democratic but recognizes that her peers may lean Republican or consider third-party options.
“The thing that I hear a lot is, if a person is really conservative, they really like how the economics are handled by Republicans,” Hopkins noted. “Usually with social issues, they tend to be more liberal. At least, like my friends who maybe are in the middle or leaning conservative, they’ll be more liberal on social issues and more conservative with economics.”
Hopkins is concerned by peers who express apathy toward voting.
“For people who say they’re outright not voting just scares me because this is a privilege that we have, that our ancestors were able to fight for,” she emphasized. Source: NPR
