A new national poll found the country’s youngest eligible voters are heading into the 2026 midterm elections burdened by deep economic anxiety and grappling with a growing belief that they are unable to effect change.
The Harvard Youth Poll, conducted among 18- to 29-year-olds by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, concluded that economic pressure is a defining concern for young Americans. It’s a sentiment reflected in months of national polls that surveyed voters across age groups, who have similarly identified cost-of-living concerns, economic mobility and inflation as their North Star issues.
Roughly half of young Americans said that they are affected “a lot” by inflation, and 45% said they are struggling to make ends meet. And over the last five years, fewer young Americans believe they will be better off financially than their parents. In 2021, 38% said they expect to be better off than their parents. In the recent spring poll, 29% said that.
Among young voters specifically, the Harvard poll identifies several trends: chief among them a plummeting sense of trust in leadership and existing political systems. These attitudes could have a significant impact on the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which voter enthusiasm and turnout, especially among the nation’s youngest voters, could potentially turn the tide.
The poll surveyed 2,018 young Americans nationwide between 18 and 29 from March 26 to April 3. The margin of error is +/- 2.74 percentage points.
A growing distrust in government, plummeting hope
The majority of people between 18 and 29 hold a negative view of the state of the country and of the current administration.
Less than a third, 26%, of young Americans said they feel hopeful about the future of the country. That marks a 29-point decline since the question was asked in the 2021 Harvard Youth Poll. At that time, 55% said they had hope for the nation’s future. The collapse in hope cuts across party lines.
Just 13% of these young people said the United States is headed in the right direction, and 59% said it’s on the wrong track. About one quarter, 26%, remain unsure; that response is unchanged since the youth poll’s fall 2025 survey.
The young voters’ attitudes are gloomier than those in a recent NBC News Decision Desk poll released April 19, which found that about one-third of voters, regardless of age, consider the country to be “on the right track.” A little over two-thirds, or 67%, of respondents in the NBC poll said the United States is on the wrong track.
When it comes to President Donald Trump, approval remains low – 25% – among young voters. That’s significantly lower than the president’s average rating, as calculated by The New York Times, which is 38% approval and 58% disapproval as of April 22. That rating plummeted in recent days, dipping to 36%, its lowest level since Trump returned to the White House, according to an April 21 Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Discontent and distrust extended beyond the Oval Office in the youth poll.
Only 15% of young Americans said they trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time. That’s the lowest level recorded by the Harvard Youth Poll in 26 years. More than two-thirds – 68% – said elected officials are motivated by selfish reasons, with the share who strongly agree with that statement increasing from 26% in 2017 to 39% in the spring survey.
Among young voters, just 33% said they trust the 2026 elections will be conducted fairly. Another 43% do not, and 21% are unsure, highlighting deep uncertainty as the country hurtles toward the 2026 midterm elections in November.
Young voters favor Democrats, but turnout remains key question
As it was in another youth survey last week from Yale, the Harvard survey found that young voters favor the Democratic Party.
The party leads 45% to 26% among young registered voters in the generic ballot.
Young voters who identify as Democrats said they are more likely to vote than Republicans said they are in the November election: 55% of Democrats said they plan to cast ballots compared with 35% of Republicans. Among independents, 25% said they will vote.
Yet enthusiasm among young voters is muted, the poll found. Just 12% said they feel motivated and ready to participate in elections. Larger shares described a more circumscribed attitude: 26% of young Democrats and 30% of young independents expressed that they feel entirely cynical about the political system. Among young Republicans, 25% said they are paying attention but are not strongly engaged.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Young voters squeezed by economy and distrust political systems in new poll
Reporting by Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
