Commentary August 28, 2024

Kamala’s Gen Z problem

Business Insider

Daniel A. Cox

In the 48 hours after Kamala Harris announced her run for president on July 21, nearly 40,000 people registered to vote on vote.org — 83% of whom were under 35. The groundswell of support from young people, NPR correspondent Tamara Keith recently said, indicates “the kind of enthusiasm they haven’t experienced since Obama.” But can the Harris

Commentary July 15, 2024

The GOP is Poised to Make Gains With Young Voters

Daniel A. Cox

Of the many ways that Donald Trump has scrambled the country’s political demography, none is more surprising than the way he changed the GOP’s relationship with young voters. Not all polling agrees, but many reputable polling outfits have found Trump neck-and-neck with Biden among young voters. But it’s not simply that Trump has suddenly become more appealing

Young voters are less supportive of Biden than they were in 2020. Embracing immigration may be the key to reclaiming the youth vote.

Marriage is positively associated with greater community involvement across a range of different activities.

Until very recently, American culture has operated on the flawed notion that teenage dating and sex required little encouragement. Teenage romance was once seen as a natural part of American adolescence. This, it turns out, is completely wrong. Teenage dating is not inevitable and it’s a rapidly disappearing part of the American teenage experience. These

Commentary January 23, 2024

The war within Gen Z

Business Insider

Daniel A. Cox

Young man and woman walking away from one another

Young men and women no longer agree on anything. What happened?

Commentary November 21, 2023

Smells Like Teen Solitude

The Dispatch

Daniel A. Cox

Teenage boy texting

Smartphone and parenting trends have pushed off major life milestones.

Commentary November 15, 2023

Are The Kids Alright?

The Liberal Patriot

Daniel A. Cox

What on earth is happening with young voters? A New York Times/Siena College poll of six battleground states found Joe Biden with a one-point lead over former president Trump among 18 to 29 year old registered voters, representing a 25-point swing from the 2020 election. There’s no doubt that Biden is less popular today than when he first

Commentary September 10, 2023

Trump is Not as Strong as He Looks

The Liberal Patriot

Daniel A. Cox

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Steer N' Stein bar at the Iowa State Fair on August 12, 2023. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Despite an early polling lead, Donald Trump’s position in the 2024 GOP primary is more tenuous than it appears.

In fact, many young people remain politically noncommittal as they figure out where they fit in.

Survey Reports

Daniel A. Cox, Sam Pressler
August 22, 2024

Disconnected: The Growing Class Divide in American Civic Life

Disconnected: Places and Spaces presents new survey findings that suggest Americans are less connected than ever before.

Daniel A. Cox, Kyle Gray, Kelsey Eyre Hammond
May 28, 2024

An Unsettled Electorate: How Uncertainty and Apathy Are Shaping the 2024 Election

A survey of more than 6,500 US adults focused on the 2024 presidential election reveals a pessimistic and unsettled American electorate fractured by education, ideology, class, and gender.

Generation Z and the Transformation of American Adolescence Cover Image

Daniel A. Cox, Kelsey Eyre Hammond, Kyle Gray
November 9, 2023

Generation Z and the Transformation of American Adolescence: How Gen Z’s Formative Experiences Shape Its Politics, Priorities, and Future

This report explores the foundational differences between American generations through their formative adolescent experiences.

Young man sitting in a dark room before a wall featuring various conspiracy theory-related items illuminated by a computer screen

Daniel A. Cox, M. Anthony Mills, Ian R. Banks, Kelsey Eyre Hammond, Kyle Gray
September 28, 2023

America’s Crisis of Confidence: Rising Mistrust, Conspiracies, and Vaccine Hesitancy After COVID-19

America is experiencing a crosscutting crisis of expertise and scientific distrust accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic that poses significant challenges to democratic debate and public decision-making