It’s the issues, stupid

Let’s face it. Everyone sees 2024 as the third in a tired matchup between two of the least likable candidates in presidential campaign history. Trump/Clinton (2016), Trump/ Biden (2020) and Trump/Biden (2024) make us think how far we’ve come since Ike/Adlai. How far down.

Comes now pollster Celinda Lake and documentary filmmaker Mac Heller. And they’ve got bad news for both modern political parties.

First, the demographic reality: Every year, about four million Americans turn 18.

In years past, this would not be big news, because younger voters have been notoriously apathetic. Not Gen Z. That generation registers and shows up at higher rates than previous voters under 30, and they’ve already swayed elections.

They vote at a 25 percent higher clip than older generations, by 8 percent in presidential years, and an incredible 46 percent in mid-term elections since 2016.

What motivates them? Not candidates, and certainly not parties. They have almost no party loyalty. Refreshingly, issues motivate them.

For instance, a Michigan election to protect abortion rights in that state’s constitution saw a Gen Z turnout of 49 percent. Nearly seven in 10 of those voted in favor of abortion rights.

Further, the lack of party loyalty among these young people makes them open to third-party candidates. With recent polling showing as many as 50 percent of the overall electorate open to the same, the upcomin’ could be blown wide open with an end result that may, or may not, be good for the country.

Lake and Heller’s polling indicates Gen Z is more educated and more female; “about 48 percent … identify as a person of color” vs. the “72 percent white” boomers they’re replacing.

They say the message is clear to both parties. “Listen to the voices of this soon-to-be-dominant group of voters” and reach them on “social media, not cable news.”

Less obvious is the messaging itself. Gen Z wants “short … funny … sarcastic … authentic and earnest at the same time.” Then again, they also want a personal day for every pay period.

Whether they get humor or not, these 18- to 26-year-olds were all born during the Clinton administration. Political discourse has not improved since then, and Gen Z is apparently sick of it. They use words like “collaboration” and “problem-solving”—two things that have been in short supply since they’ve been drawing breath.

This should be a warning to both major parties and especially their extremist wings. Gen Z isn’t just kids any longer. It is a voting bloc.