Why So Many Young Voters Are Turning Radical

Rasmussen Report’s new survey of voters under 40 paints a stark picture. Most believe the economy is unfair to them, and a majority would even support a law to confiscate Americans’ “excess wealth” (second homes, luxury cars, boats) to help young people buy a first home. Fifty-five percent endorse that idea, but just 38% oppose it. Only 29% of individuals under 40 are homeowners, and many feel “stuck,” lonely, or in crisis. 

Why the sudden shift? Start with COVID’s totalitarian backlash. Youth mental health was declining before 2020, but the pandemic, especially school closures and extended isolation, made it worse. CDC’s latest Youth Risk Behavior data show four in ten high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023, with one in five seriously considering suicide.

Those are crisis-level numbers that reflect social disconnection and disrupted routines. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores confirm historic learning losses that have not fully recovered, especially in reading, a foundation for all later learning. A generation that felt locked down, masked up, and left behind is now more receptive to sweeping fixes, some skeptical of markets, some populist.

Economics worsens these issues. Younger Americans face a significant barrier to home affordability: high rents, expensive home prices, and larger down payments. Homeownership rates among those under 35 have dropped recently, and first-time buyers are older than in earlier generations.

Millennials’ ownership rate remains significantly lower than that of Boomers, and industry groups warn that younger buyers continue to be pushed out. The evidence appears in Rasmussen’s crosstabs: voters under 40 describe the system as “unfair” and, at concerning levels, support confiscatory policies as a quick fix for housing issues. 

Labor-market problems aren’t helping. Entry-level jobs have become harder to find, job mobility has slowed down, and “job-hugging” replaces “job-hopping” as workers stay put amid AI disruptions and employment uncertainty. That’s a recipe for frustration when inflation has already lowered starting wages. When you feel that what you once thought was a normal life is out of reach, radical ideas can seem less radical.

So why did so many Gen Z voters also shift toward Trump in the last election? Post-election analysis from AP VoteCast noted the new trend. Trump gained support from younger voters compared to 2020, especially among young men, even though the overall 18–29 age group still leaned Democratic.

Tufts’ CIRCLE research center reports that youth favored Harris 52–46% overall but shifted more to the right compared to 2020. They also found that young women supported Harris by 18 points, while young men preferred Trump by 14 points. AP’s VoteCast observed similar trends, noting that Trump’s 2024 coalition gained ground among young and nonwhite voters, driven by economic dissatisfaction and the desire for change.

In other words, the same disaffection that drives some under-40s toward redistribution also pushes others, especially young men, toward an anti-establishment right that offers order, borders, speech absolutism, and a “let me climb” economy.

If you see institutions as having failed you, such as schools closing for too long, mental health being neglected, costs skyrocketing, and gatekeepers controlling speech, then the appeal of a strong shift is clear. Rasmussen Report’s own finding that even many under-40 Democrats and independents support wealth confiscation highlights how widespread and cross-party the dissatisfaction is.

There are several implications, beginning with volatility. Young voters aren’t strictly ideological, but they are definitely frustrated. That makes them highly driven by results rather than party labels.

Then there is policy risk. A generation prone to extreme solutions will pressure leaders to use blunt tools, such as confiscation, price controls, and measures based on class envy, which have often backfired. Lastly, there is opportunity. There is a significant room for practical wins that clearly enhance upward mobility.

These include faster and more affordable housing approvals, skills-focused rather than DEI-oriented hiring, on-ramps to work that bypass diversity and quota bottlenecks, school choice, tutoring to address learning loss, mental health support in schools, and pro-competition policies that reduce prices without picking winners.

Politically, both parties should read the tea leaves. Younger voters want results. If conservatives can pair order with opportunity, meaning, safe streets, abundant housing, competitive energy, and free speech, they’ll keep their new inroads among Gen Z.

If progressives can offer affordability without sacrificing opportunity, they’ll maintain their appeal with young women and socially liberal youth. Fail, and the same voters will keep searching until they find the candidate of their dreams and fantasies.

This is unfolding in real time in New York City, where years of failed leadership and a steady decline in quality of life and opportunities have paved the way for a charismatic socialist (or communist) to become the next mayor.

Lastly, there is breaking news at the time of this writing: the brutal and senseless assassination of Charlie Kirk. His ability to engage young people in thoughtful dialogue about the issues mentioned above is one reason why many young voters now favor the GOP.

As he told Tucker Carlson in a recent interview, “Political radicalism does not come out of peace, prosperity, rising wages, stable families, church attendance, and happy people.”

Happy people and grateful people do not get behind Vladimir Lenin, and they certainly don’t get behind Chavez or Castro. But if they can’t own property, and their dollars diminish in value, they start to look for alternatives.

If Republicans can address this frustration, young people will be drawn to this message instead of the Democrat siren song of helplessness, hopelessness, and despair. President Trump and his party need to hear this loud and clear.

Rasmussen’s survey is a stern warning. Alienation and frustration are high enough that radicalism is popping in the polls. That’s not a case for panic, but for pragmatism. Candidates and politicians must propose and enact policies that enable a young American to buy a starter home, start a family, and begin to believe in the American dream again.  

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer.

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