(NewsNation) — Young voters were key to President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, but a new poll shows former President Donald Trump is closing the gap with that group.
An Axios-Generation Lab survey of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 showed Biden leading Trump 52% to 48%. That’s significantly tighter than Biden’s 20-point advantage with young voters in the 2020 election, per a Pew Research Center analysis.
Other polls have shown Biden trailing with young voters. A New York Times/Siena College survey in December found Trump (49%) leading Biden (43%) among voters under 30. An NBC News poll in November showed Trump ahead of Biden by four points with voters under 35.
Several analyses have found that Biden’s support for Israel amid the war with Hamas is one of the reasons young voters are turning away.
But like other recent polls, including those by NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ, the economy remains the top issue.
Roughly 40% of young voters in the Axios-Generation lab survey said the economy matters the most to them, ahead of abortion (16%), student debt (11%) and immigration (11%).
The survey noted 70% of respondents were definitely (42%) or probably (28%) going to vote, while 30% said they were probably not (17%) or definitely not (13%) voting.
Among young voters who said they were definitely planning to vote, Biden had 63% support, Axios said.
Respondents were also asked about Taylor Swift’s star power and whether her influence could sway them. Just 4% of those surveyed said they would consider changing their vote if Swift endorsed either Trump or Biden.
The Axios-Generation Lab poll was conducted Feb. 3-14 from a sample of 1,073 people ages 18-34. It had a margin of error of three percentage points.
