(The Hill) – Just over a third of young Americans in a new poll approve of President Biden’s performance as he gears up for an expected 2024 reelection bid.
A Harvard Youth Poll, released Monday by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, found Biden earned an approval rating of 38% among American registered voters between ages 18 and 29.
The figure is a three-point drop since last fall and a five-point drop since last spring, the poll notes. He’s significantly more popular among young Democrats — at 64%% — than among Republicans — 6%. He has a 30% approval among independent or unaffiliated young voters.
The new poll comes as Biden is expected to kick off a 2024 reelection bid as soon as Tuesday, after months of anticipation about a run and amid concerns about the president’s age.
Roughly a quarter of young Americans in the new Harvard poll approve of Biden’s handling of the economy and inflation, at 28 and 22%, respectively. Just over a third approve of his handling of race relations and of the war in Ukraine, at 38 and 37%, respectively.
Twenty-seven percent approve of the president’s handling of gun violence — at the same time, 40% in the poll also say they are concerned “about being a victim of gun violence or a mass shooting.”
Nearly half — or 48%— of young Americans said they’ve felt unsafe in the last month. Around half of female college students are concerned that they could be victim to a mass shooting or to sexual assault, at 53 and 49%, respectively.
Conducted March 13-22, the Harvard Youth Poll surveyed 2,069 Americans between ages 18 and 29 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.86 percentage points.