New focus groups of skeptical young men planning to vote in this fall’s most critical battleground states illustrate how, for them, this election is all about Donald Trump.
A total of 15 men under the age of 30 from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — for whom the former president has been the dominant figure in politics and culture since they were teens, if not earlier — participated in conversations as part of the NBC News Deciders Focus Group, produced in collaboration with Syracuse University and the research firms Engagious and Sago.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. Here’s what we learned: Focus group one: Harris leaners All of the seven young, male voters who said they were leaning toward Harris described their choice as more of a vote against Trump than a demonstration of support for the Democratic nominee. Three from Pennsylvania used the term “lesser of two evils” to describe their choice, while another said he was choosing who would “enact less damage.” “Kamala Harris is a step in the right direction, even if it is a small step. I extremely dislike MAGA politics, and a lot of the Republican Party is basically that extremeness, and I dislike it a lot,” 23-year-old John M. said. “It does kind of fall into the lesser of the two evils, but I feel like there’s a little bit more promise with her.” Focus group two: Trump leaners By contrast, among the eight men under 30 who were leaning toward Trump, four said they are proactively supporting the GOP nominee, while the other four said they are primarily opposing Harris. Those who described their vote as affirmative support for Trump reminisced about the “prosperity” and “stability” they associate with his tenure in the White House. “Selfishly speaking, my life was better back when he was in office than currently, both monetarily-wise, I think geopolitical wise, things like that. And also I just feel like I trust him more,” said Drake L., a 27-year-old from Philadelphia. The battle for young voters Polling has shown a significant gender gap in the presidential race, with Trump holding the upper hand among men and Harris with women. And while Democrats have long performed better with younger voters, the gender gap persists with that group, too. This month’s NBC News Stay Tuned Gen Z Poll powered by SurveyMonkey found Harris leading among women under 30 by a much wider margin, 30 points, than her 4-point edge over Trump among young men (within the margin of error). The two campaigns have been vocal about their attempts to win over young men — Trump through the world of influencers and combat sports, and Harris through targeted ads and the refrain about vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s past as an assistant football coach. And considering these voters reside in swing states regularly decided by a small number of voters, the ultimate margin among these young, male voters could prove pivotal. Read more from our focus groups → | 