US Elections 2024 Update: Youth Issues, Engagement & Merch

• Key Issues: Over half (53%) of young people (18-34) say the cost of living/inflation is their top issue, followed by access to jobs that pay a living wage (28%) (Tufts, 2023). Young voters (18-29) also say they support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza (51%), and believe there’s an immigration crisis (53%), while only 9% think the country is headed in the right direction (Harvard, 2024).
  
  
• Driving Youth Engagement: While many young people are politically motivated, they’re choosing their own way to participate politically. Gen Z is most likely to express their political beliefs by following or unfollowing celebrities and politicians on social media (37%), signing a petition (34%), or boycotting a company or product that clashes with their beliefs (32%) (NBC, 2024). However, they’re keen to avoid political talk at work, with a third having lied about their beliefs to avoid conflict (Enhancv, 2024).
  
  
• Feeding the Merch Machine: Echoing trends we note in The Merch Boom, merchandise has become a key tool used in both the Harris and Trump campaigns to entice young voters. Pop-culture references are driving Harris’ strategy, with a camouflage baseball cap nodding to one sold on tour for American singer Chappell Roan; and ‘Harris-Walz’ friendship bracelets, referencing the ones Taylor Swift fans trade at concerts and released following the pop star’s endorsement.
  
  While Trump’s campaign also sells a camo hat and a T-shirt that resembles merch from Swift’s Era’s Tour, it’s prioritising more expensive products – including sneakers, bedazzled clutches and digital trading cards featuring Trump’s likeness.
  
  

For more on the US presidential election, see The Brief.