Youth interest in presidential race spikes after Biden exit

The recent withdrawal of President Joe Biden from the presidential race, as well as the entry of Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic candidate, has injected new energy into the political landscape, particularly among young voters. 

With the 81-year-old Biden stepping aside, former president Donald Trump, 78, is now the oldest person to ever run for the highest office in the country, sparking debate about whether age impacts a person’s ability to lead. On the other hand, Harris, at 59, is nearly two decades younger than Trump.

Young voters who spoke to the Sammamish Independent considered Biden’s decision to drop out as a good choice. Gowtham Senthilkumar, 18, said that having younger leaders makes more sense given the rapid pace of technological advancement, which calls for a president who can quickly adapt to the changing times.

“It would be better off with, the people that were running weren’t like 80-year-old people that are probably gonna fall asleep in the middle of their speech,” Gowtham said. “I feel like if you have younger people around the country then it just makes more sense when you think about it.”

Aneesh Kumar, 18, believes Biden made the right strategic move to pull out of the election.

“He simply will be too old and too much of a drag on the Democratic Party as their resources need to be evenly split,” Kumar said. “The Democratic Party would need to also take control of both the House and the Senate in order to pass new legislation, which requires more resources that the Democratic Party would otherwise be using on the presidential race.”

Eddie Ni, 18, believes that a younger president such as Harris could better resonate with Gen Z and stoke more interest in politics. According to Ni, the ability to express policies and future plans to the public clearly is paramount and will keep the younger generation more informed and engaged.

“I think that it was a good thing for Biden to drop,” Ni said. “Kamala Harris is definitely better than Joe Biden in terms of her effectiveness with delivering speeches and her policies. This change would really increase my interest in the race.”

For Kumar, who soured on Biden because of his policies, the entry of Harris has rekindled his interest.

“I think there are a couple topics that have plagued Biden’s campaign such as border policies, international affairs, and inflation. This made his campaign less impactful,” Kumar said. “I think Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee has many upsides for the country because of her diversity and occupational background. Overall she is a great Democratic candidate.”

Many young voters now consider the matchup between Harris and Trump to be even, which reflects tightening polls around the country. Some are unsure which way the election will swing.

Daniel Shako, 19, believes the Harris-Trump matchup will be very competitive over the next three months. He said it is hard to predict who will win, given both candidates “have their strengths and weaknesses,” including Trump’s unfavorability among Black voters and Harris’s low popularity overall.

Ni, however, still thinks this is Trump’s race to lose, especially after his dominant debate performance against Biden and surviving an assassination attempt in mid-July.

“I think that Trump will still win the election as he has already built a large following in many Republican states and the assassination also significantly boosted his support,” Ni said.