RECOMMENDED READING
Young non-white men have emerged as a wild card, and potentially decisive swing vote, in next weekâs election. A new American Compass survey explains why, finding that their views and priorities align more closely with the white working class than with the affluent liberal women whose views dominate the Democratic Party.
Young non-white men are nearly 10% of the adult population, currently split their support between the two presidential candidates, and are likely to still be undecided. While the Harris campaign is clearly alarmed by this trend, its appeals do not appear well calibrated to the priorities and interests of these voters.
The surveyâs key findings include:
- Young non-white men are divided evenly in their support for Vice President Kamala Harris (40%) and former President Donald Trump (39%) with more than 20% still undecidedâa far higher share than in the electorate overall.
- Asked about the countryâs direction, young non-white men choose âwrong trackâ over âright directionâ by 25 points, similar to responses from the white working class (-27 wrong track) but starkly different from affluent liberal women (+7 right direction).
- On a wide range of issues that progressives have emphasized, , including diversity, economic nationalism, immigration, and the environment, the white working class and young non-white men have much in common.
- A political message of honesty and sacrifice produces strong positive reactions from both young non-white men (+42%) and the white working class (+57%) but elicits a negative response (-2%) from affluent liberal womenâthe only group to respond negatively to these sentiments.
Click here to read the full report.
Recommended Reading
The Young Men Up For Grabs
Young non-white men are key swing voters in 2024, but Democrats donât speak to them