November will hinge on the youth vote — so why are politicians snubbing millennials and Gen Z? 

It was inevitable that a presidential election with two senior candidates at the top would force a national debate about our country’s problems. aging parliamentarians. However, age is not just an issue in presidential elections. Congress is facing its own generational shift as Millennial and Gen Z candidates prepare to enter the civil service.

now new Harvard University IOP Youth Poll This highlights just how dynamic the youth vote really is, and how important it is to dispel the myths created by both political parties about what it means to be a young American voter. Make it stand out.

If President Biden wants to keep his job, he needs to assert his position as a leader in responding to the vote of our nation’s misunderstood youth. It’s more than just a slogan. It means admitting that many of our preconceptions about young voters are wrong, and that not all of our toxic politics are the fault of a radicalized Republican Party.

First of all, it’s past time to push back against cynical Republican attempts to unite all young voters with the party. anti-war protests It’s disrupting college campuses across the country. These protests, which led to shocking footage of police arresting students and faculty, have polarized the country for weeks, with 18 people citing Israel’s war in Gaza as a top issue. Only about one in three (34%) voters aged ~29 years old said so.

There is also a pernicious myth that young voters will only vote for candidates who will forgive their student loans.

FOX News and other right-wing media Hundreds of hours of airtime Describing young voters as selfish and greedy student Who got it by accumulating debt in college? useless degree And now they want working-class Americans to pay for it. Biden is also trying to capitalize on the student loan debate by highlighting his administration’s policies. $146 billion in debt cancellation. It’s no secret that the president hopes that his very public act of canceling these loans will bring skeptical young progressives back into the Democratic Party.

There’s just one problem. It’s that the majority of young voters aren’t obsessed with student loan debt.

According to a Harvard Youth Poll, only 26% of young people cite this issue as their top concern, making it the least popular issue among young people. This is true whether the voters in question are Democrats, Republicans, or independents. Democrats have once again been fooled by a false narrative concocted by right-wing media outlets to appear out of touch with what young voters actually care about.

New data from Harvard University goes a long way toward explaining the trend I talked about in last week’s column about the record number of young Americans who are completely disconnected from politics. Even when campaign messages are positive, such as Biden’s focus on canceling student debt, they tend to focus on issues that only some voters care about.

If Democrats start engaging young voters on the issues they actually care about, they will find voters ready to side with Biden on almost every major issue. For example, 57 percent of young Democrats and 53 percent of young Republicans list “protecting democracy” as a top priority. When it comes to protecting our democracy, Young voters trust Biden has a 12-point lead over former President Trump.

Reproductive freedom is a top issue for young Democrats, with nearly 7 in 10 (68%) citing abortion rights as their top concern. This is also true for half of independents (49%) and nearly a quarter of Republicans (24%). Given that the Republican Party is in an advantageous position; historic election losing streak Given his extreme anti-abortion stance, it’s understandable that the Republican candidate would want to tie Biden up with student loans instead of defending his own indefensible attack on reproductive rights.

The latest data from Harvard University reveals a strong resemblance to the 2020 and 2022 races in which Democrats ousted Trump and subsequently derailed their policies. so-called red wave Focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and reproductive freedom. at that time, criticized by critics Mr. Biden made lofty arguments about defending democracy, which he argued did not resonate with young voters. His myopic view was wrong in 2020 and 2022, and a Harvard study shows it’s still wrong today.

If Mr. Biden wants a similar outcome with young voters as he did in 2020, he will need to challenge his own beliefs about why those voters became politically disillusioned in the first place. Talking about issues they actually care about is a great first step.

Young voters are already saying they trust Biden more than Trump to address their concerns. It’s time for Biden to let voters know he hears their complaints.

Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies.