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Election 2024
Feven Gerezgiher

Report: Young Minnesota voters preferred Harris less than Biden

Students wait in line to vote
Students and residents of Hennepin County wait in line to vote early at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis on Oct. 22. This is the first time an early voting site has been at the University.
Sophia Marschall | MPR News

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Young voters nationwide had the highest support for Vice President Kamala Harris of any age group on Election Day, according to early voter turnout data, yet overall there was increased support for former President Donald Trump among young people in this election compared to 2020. 

That’s according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University which analyzed data from AP VoteCast, an election week survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for The Associated Press and other outlets. The survey sample included over 10,000 young people nationwide, according to a CIRCLE representative speaking in a news briefing Thursday.  

CIRCLE reports that in Minnesota, voters ages 18 to 29 preferred Harris by 18 points, with 58 percent voting for her versus 40 percent for Trump. In contrast, Biden had a 34-point lead over Trump from young Minnesota voters in 2020. This is in line with trends in other states. 

Early turnout data indicates young white men drove increased support for Trump nationally. They were the only group, by race and gender, to prefer Trump and voted Republican with a 28-point margin. Young white women and Latino men split their vote between the two major party candidates, according to CIRCLE. 

Nationwide, the strongest support for Harris came from youth of color, with 75 percent of Black youth and 72 percent of Asian youth voting for Harris, according to CIRCLE. 

However, support for Trump increased across every racial group of young voters nationwide in 2024 compared to 2020. Many young voters, like older voters, indicated “the economy and jobs” was their driving factor to vote, which in turn researchers found correlated with voting Trump for president. 

CIRCLE also reports “five percent of young voters backed a third-party or independent candidate, slightly higher than the 3 percent who did so in 2020.” 

About 42 percent of eligible young people across the country voted in the 2024 election. That is less than in 2020, but comparable to turnout in 2016, according to researchers. Turnout was higher this year in battleground states. 

“It does look like there is a different electorate that showed up, and we'll have more to look at over time about that dynamic,” said Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE. 

CIRCLE plans to release more state-specific data next year. Minnesota has historically had high youth voter turnout, ranking among top states in recent national elections.