Members of Generation Z differed from the broader adult population and even with one another on questions about favored politicians and policies ahead of the next national election cycle.

The newly released Yale Youth Poll, which said that Generation Z is more progressive with respect to issues like immigration, nevertheless found that on a generic ballot for 2026, voters between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one would vote Republican at a 11.7 point margin, while those between twenty-two and twenty-nine would vote Democratic at a 6.4 point margin.

With respect to their favorite possible candidates for the 2028 presidential nomination, those in Generation Z who are also young Democrats preferred former Vice President Kamala Harris, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Those same preferences are shared by the older Democrats, but younger Democrats are relatively more likely to express support for Harris and Ocasio-Cortez, and less for Buttigieg.

Republicans who are in Generation Z view figures such as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and political strategist Steve Bannon at slight negative net favorability margins, although older Republicans are more likely to approve of them, though at lower levels than other figures.

The overwhelming majority of Republicans across age groups favor Vice President JD Vance as the next party nominee, with a 65 point margin in terms of net favorability among Republicans.

Generation Z respondents were slightly more likely than other Democrats to support “running on progressive policies that give their voters something to vote for” rather than moderating to draw more moderate voters, a reality that comes amid low nationwide favorability for the Democrats.