Young Americans, feeling the country is off course and their futures unstable, are deeply pessimistic about the nation’s two major political parties and about the state of the economy, according to a new national poll.
And the 51st edition of the Harvard Youth poll, released on Thursday, also indicates that Americans aged 18–29 heavily disapprove of the jobs President Donald Trump is doing in the White House and Democrats and Republicans are doing in Congress.
Gains by Trump and Republicans in courting younger voters helped the GOP win back the White House and the Senate and hold their House majority in last year’s elections.
But the poll is the latest to show warning signs for Republicans as they aim to hold their congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections. The survey offers mixed signals for Democrats, who are energized by ballot box successes this year.
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According to the poll, which was conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, Trump’s approval rating stood at 29%, down two points from Harvard’s most recent survey, issued last spring. And the president’s approval rating of his handling of the economy stood at just 26%.
But federal lawmakers didn’t fare any better.
The approval rating for congressional Democrats stood at 27%, with only 26% saying Republicans in Congress were doing a good job.
“Young Americans hold persistently low views of national leadership, reflecting a belief that political leaders are not responsive to the economic and technological pressures they face. Despite this widespread skepticism,” the poll’s release highlights.
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Troubling for the Democratic Party, 48% of younger Democrats questioned in the poll used a negative term to describe their party, while just a quarter of younger Republicans characterized their party negatively.
Only 35% of Democrats offered to say something positive about their party, while 46% of Republican respondents said something positive about the GOP.
But there is a silver lining for Democrats and a warning signal for Republicans, as the poll indicates Democrats holding a sizable advantage in the 2026 battle for Congress.
Among registered voters questioned, 46% said they would prefer Democratic control of Congress, compared to 29% who would prefer the GOP keep control. Democrats lead across nearly every major subgroup.
“Democrats maintain an advantage heading into 2026 — not because of heightened enthusiasm, but because many young voters view the alternative as less aligned with their priorities,” the survey spotlighted.
According to the poll, only 13% said the country is headed in the right direction, 43% said they were struggling or getting by with limited financial security, and only three in ten believed they will be better off financially than their parents.
And by more than a three-to-one margin, young Americans say AI will take away opportunities.
“Young Americans are sending a clear message: the systems and institutions meant to support them no longer feel stable, fair, or responsive to this generation,” Director of Polling at the Institute of Politics John Della Volpe said. “Their trust in democracy, the economy, and even each other is fraying — not because they are disengaged, but because they feel unheard and unprotected in a moment of profound uncertainty.
The poll questioned 2,040 U.S. residents aged 18–29 from Nov. 3–7. The survey, conducted in coordination with Ipsos Public Affairs, had an overall sampling error of plus or minus 2.94 percentage points.
