CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than any other issue, young North Carolinians are concerned about the economy, with top issues including canceling student debt and raising the minimum wage, according to a poll released Monday by the left-leaning NextGen America and Data for Progress.
The poll comes as the midterm elections gear up with primaries in March and a general election in November. The elections will include candidates for U.S. Senate, and put North Carolina in the national spotlight as a potential swing state.
“The big question for everyone is: ‘Are young people … going to turn out to vote in 2022?’” said NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez.
A surge of young voters went to the polls in 2020. About 55% of North Carolina voters ages 18-29 voted in that election — a 10-point increase from 2016.
The NextGen/Data for Progress poll found that among registered voters ages 18-36, 26% said they were more enthusiastic to vote in 2022 than in 2020, and 45% said they were as enthusiastic.
Here are some highlights from the polling:
— Among registered poll respondents, 61% said they approved of Gov. Roy Cooper, compared with 45% for Sen. Thom Tillis and 39% for Sen. Richard Burr. Burr is not seeking reelection.
— Registered young people were more likely to have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party than unregistered young people — 47% compared with 27%. Residents 25 to 36 years old were more favorable of both parties than 18- to 24-year-olds.
— Unsurprisingly, young people were more likely to support Democrats than Republicans. Of all respondents, 33% said they had a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, while 41% said the same of Democrats.
— Given a list of 12 issues, strengthening the economy was voted the most important. 21% said this was the most important issue facing young people in North Carolina. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour was the second most popular answer, followed by canceling student debt.
— When respondents were allowed to choose multiple issues as their most important, canceling the student debt became the second most popular, followed reforming the criminal justice system. Raising the minimum wage came in fourth, and addressing climate change came in fifth.
NextGen is following up the poll results with a voter registration drive in North Carolina. In visits to 20 campuses across the state, they hope to register 40,000 young people ahead of the 2022 elections.
“Young people have a lot of economic anxiety in the state of North Carolina,” Ramirez said, adding: “Young people are having to put off their dreams, their sense of family, their sense of future.
“That is going to drive them to vote.”
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