NextGen America/Data For Progress Poll Unveils Top Concerns and Strong Enthusiasm for 2022 Election Among Young People in New Hampshire
Exclusive new polling shows strengthening the economy, addressing climate change and canceling student loan debt are top priorities for 18-36-year-olds in New Hampshire
Austin, TX — Today, NextGen America and Data for Progress released new research revealing strong enthusiasm among young Granite Staters to vote in the upcoming 2022 election and showing the urgency of enacting policies to strengthen the economy, address climate change, reform the criminal justice system and cancel student debt.
Among New Hampshire residents aged 18 to 36, 30 percent reported being more enthusiastic about voting in 2022 than usual, along with 37 percent who said they’re just as enthusiastic as usual, meaning two-thirds of young New Hampshire residents are as enthusiastic or more enthusiastic about voting in 2022 compared to the 2020 presidential election.
“Our new data shows what we already knew: young people in New Hampshire are overwhelmingly excited to turn out in 2022,” NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez said. “NextGen is committed to continuing to meet young Granite Staters where they are and engage them on the issues that they care about the most. Young people’s voices need to be heard in the November elections.”
The NextGen America-Data for Progress poll also measured the top issues facing young people in New Hampshire. As young voters look ahead to the next election, they’re sending clear signals on their top priorities and the concerns they believe our leaders should be addressing.
Leading the way is the economy. A 31-percent plurality of respondents identified “strengthening the economy” as the single-most important issue facing young people in New Hampshire, followed by 13 percent who called “addressing climate change” the most important issue, and 12 percent who cited “canceling student debt”.
When ranking their top-five most important issues, 65 percent identified strengthening the economy as a top issue. Fifty-one percent of respondents called addressing climate change and transitioning to clean energy a top-five issue and 47 percent cited reforming the criminal justice system. Young people in New Hampshire also indicated support for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour (46 percent) and reducing the cost of prescription drugs (46 percent).
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| The cancellation of student loan debt will be a high priority for young people in advance of the 2022 midterms. Canceling all federal student loan debt proves popular with every demographic except for Republicans, with 60 percent of residents overall supporting the policy, including 61 percent of self-identified Independents, 59 percent of registered voters and 63 percent of unregistered voters.
The poll’s release on Monday follows NextGen’s program launch in New Hampshire for the 2022 election and beyond. NextGen is embarking on a $32 million voter-outreach program aimed at reaching 9.2 million voters between the ages of 18 and 35 across eight key states in 2022. In addition to New Hampshire, the program calls for organizing in Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. More information on the NextGen America-Data For Progress Poll is available here:
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About NextGen America NextGen America is the leading national organization for engaging young people through voter education, registration and mobilization. We invite 18-to-35 year olds — the largest and most diverse generation in American history — into our democracy to ensure our government works for them and to find new solutions to the dire challenges facing our society and the world. Since 2013, NextGen America has registered more than 1.4 million young voters and educated many millions more, delivering more than the margin of victory for progressives in key races and building an electorate that will lead American politics for decades to come. |
