In the battleground states of Arizona and Michigan, young women are showing strong early voter turnout, a demographic that Vice President Kamala Harris is counting on to potentially shift the upcoming election in her favor. On the University of Michigan’s campus, lines of students have formed at early voting centers, with many young women excited about Harris’s leadership on issues such as gender equality and abortion rights.
Student Keely Ganong, who supports Harris, described the Vice President as a leader she looks up to. Her friend Lola Nordlinger echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that abortion rights—a highly personal issue for women—are central to her vote. Young women’s voices, Ganong believes, “are definitely going to make a difference” as they engage in the democratic process through campus clubs, rallies, and outreach activities.
Harris holds a strong lead among young women aged 18-29, according to a Harvard Institute of Politics poll, especially among college students where her support outpaces her competitor by 38 points. However, the voter landscape is more complex, with Harris’s appeal varying significantly across demographics. For example, she leads by only 13 points among white women under 30, whereas she enjoys a 55-point advantage among non-white women in the same age group.
The abortion issue has proven pivotal in galvanizing support. In Arizona, where a ballot measure may enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, women like Mary Jelkovsky hope it will encourage voter turnout. The stakes have felt higher since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, and for many, the issue has led to personal conversations about reproductive rights. Harris’s campaign is banking on the momentum of this issue to not only drive voter turnout but also sway some Republican women, or “silent” Harris voters, to switch their support.
Women like Rebecca Gau, a former lifelong Republican from Arizona, exemplify this potential shift. Having previously cast a protest vote for Joe Biden, she is now openly enthusiastic about Harris, feeling that Harris represents her as a “practical American woman.” Gau believes that many women, regardless of political affiliation, are fed up with the prevailing political discourse and the “toxic masculinity” she associates with the Trump era.
Not all women feel this way, however. Tracey Sorrel from Texas, for instance, plans to vote for Trump, concerned that Harris’s stance on abortion may be too extreme. The Harris campaign is thus faced with the challenge of mobilizing not just young women but also attempting to bridge divides across age, race, and political ideology in crucial swing states.
Source: Madeline Halpert, Christal Hayes and Holly Honderich | BBC
