CV NEWS FEED // Data from a recently released poll show increasing despair among Gen Z voters over the current political climate in the US, with the vast majority expressing belief that almost all politicians are corrupt.
According to the latest polling from the Democratic firm Blueprint released by Semafor on May 29, voters aged 18-30 “overwhelmingly believe” that American politicians are corrupt and that “the country will be worse off than when they were born.”
The polling included answers from 943 respondents and found that 64% of voters agreed with the statement “America is in decline.” In addition, 65% agreed either strongly or somewhat that “nearly all politicians are corrupt, and make money from their political power.”
“Young voters do not look at our politics and see any good guys,” lead polling researcher Evan Roth Smith said in Semafor’s report. “They see a dying empire led by bad people.”
“Step one is more fully admitting that people are hurting, concerning young voters and all voters, particularly around the economy [and] inflation,” Smith continued. “And that we’re doing something about it. That it’s not all roses, and communicating that really, really strongly: That we don’t think everything is great.”
The polling also discovered that young voters’ perception of the country drastically changed on account of COVID-19, with 77% saying the pandemic changed the US for the worse, and 45% saying they felt less connected to friends and acquaintances in comparison to five years ago.
“I think these statements blow me away, the scale of these numbers with young voters,” Smith said.
As CatholicVote previously reported in August 2023, 54% of voters in the same age range expressed disapproval of Biden’s presidency. Only 4% said they “strongly approved, and 32% said they “somewhat approve.”
