What are young voters looking for when it comes to 2020? According to the results of a new TargetSmart/Civiqs poll, it’s more than just defeating Donald Trump. In fact, what people want is simple: 63% of young (likely) Democratic voters want bold (meaning: progressive) policy change. Not just whoever can topple Trump, but someone who is ready to lead the country in the right direction.
Let’s look at some details on how the poll was conducted—crosstabs and memo are linked at the bottom of this post, too. In this case, “young” is defined as under 34. The survey included 1,912 Democratic primary voters between the ages of 18 and 34, all of whom intend to vote in 2020.
The survey was conducted online between May 16 and 22 of this year, and was sent via email to selected members of the Civiqs research panel. The survey has a margin of error of ±2.9% at the 95% confidence level. Results are also weighted by age, race, gender, education, and region to be representative of Democratic presidential primary and caucus voters.
With that out of the way, let’s look at some interesting findings. While 63% of respondents say that big-picture policy change is their priority, 31% say that defeating Trump is still the most important thing. These voters say they would be open to just moderate changes, if it meant kicking Trump out of the White House.
In the Trump discussion, another intriguing point is that 63% of respondents intend to vote for their favorite candidate, rather than who allegedly has the best chance of beating Trump. And about 70% say they already have a favorite candidate, with about 27% saying it’s too early to know.
With this said, respondents aren’t looking at 2020 through rose-colored glasses. Seven out of 10 do expect the Democratic primary candidate (whoever that ends up being) to beat Trump. But are they confident in that? Only 15% say they are. Why? According to more than one out of three respondents, the number of candidates is nerve-wracking. An additional one in three is concerned that a long primary period will erode the nominee’s chances. Basically: More time in the public eye might be more time to whittle away anyone’s good points.
Interestingly, the young Democratic primary voters included in the poll lean liberal. More than three-quarters describe themselves as “liberal,” and fewer than one in five describe themselves as “moderate.” A healthy majority (67%) report feeling engaged with the political process. Even better? Reported engagement is especially high among young African American voters, where it ranks at 82%. It’s also high among Latinx voters, at 77%.
Where do respondents stand on the issues? In an open-ended question, candidates were asked to pick their top three issues. In response, 26% say that health care is their top priority, while twice as many say that about climate change. (In survey responses, this includes the Green New Deal, global warming, and climate change.)
Student loan debt ranks highest with 23%, followed closely by economic inequality as the top concern for 22% of participants; criminal justice reform lands at 11%. Abortion rights come in at 16%.
Want to dig in deeper? You can check out the crosstabs here and the poll memo here.