Half of young voters view Republican Party favorably post-election, poll finds

Half of voters aged 18-29 have a positive view of the Republican Party compared to 35% who have an unfavorable view, a massive shift from previous years.

The youth vote has long been considered a bastion of Democratic support, with Democratic strategists frequently theorizing before this past election that it would be decided by youth turnout — ostensibly guaranteed to vote Democrat. Instead, the youth vote saw a massive shift toward President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans, with an Economist-YouGov poll taken after the election finding the largest support for Republicans in years.

The results were a major change from just before the election, when the 18-29 demographic’s favorability rating was 35%-49%, making the latest results a massive swing over just one month.

Other October polls also suggested Democrats were the favorites among young voters, including a CNBC-Generation Lab poll that had Harris leading by 20 points among the youth demographic.

According to data from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, Voters swung 21 points toward Trump from 2020 to 2024, giving Democrats their worst showing among the demographic since 2000.

Trump consciously appealed to the youth demographic by appearing on media targeting younger voters, such as podcasts and alongside popular streamers.

Other key Republican or Republican-adjacent figures also saw a surge in popularity in the poll. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a 50% favorability rating, with 41% unfavorable, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a 49% favorability rating, with 38% unfavorable.

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Other Republican leaders didn’t fare so well. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had a 20%-57% favorability rating, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had a 29%-36% favorability rating.

The poll was conducted from Nov. 23-26, surveying 1,590 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%.