We hope everyone has had a great week so far and on today’s episode let’s jump right into the election and polls which don’t seem to move much, but both campaigns are in full swing.
Where do we stand today? Even though the average of the polls show Biden ahead by 4-5% – in reality this race is too close to call.
We’ll look at how different key cohorts will have a big effect on this election, including 18-29 year olds and young black men. There is still a core base of Millennials and Gen-Z that will still vote for Trump.
Finally we’ll discuss the rise of a growing number of young people who say they will take a ‘wait and see’ approach to a COVID vaccine and/or vaccines in general. What’s going on here?
SHOW NOTES:
Many of the battleground states are too close to call. So where do we stand? Clearly Biden is focusing his efforts on the base and moderate Republicans particularly as it relates to the administration’s handling of the pandemic. 69% of voters see the President’s response (or lack thereof) as a failure.
Trump is focusing on an anti-elitist message when it comes to science, regulation, re-opening and trying to remind voters of the strength of the economy pre-COVID19.
12:35 The Young, Black, Trump Voter
In some ways the support of Trump by a double digit percentage young black men and some in Gen-Z could be about a rejection of elitism, a feeling that they have been taken for granted by the Democratic Party or simply a rise in independence – and these numbers have serious implications for Democrats beyond 2020.
How does media consumption affect how millennials vote? Much of the traditional media is top-down and Millenials and Gen-Z are breaking away from traditional consumption of media.
18:04 Vaccines & Vaccinations
We find consistently in our polls a growing number of young people in particular who say they will not get vaccinated or will not allow their children to be vaccinated when the COVID19 vaccine comes out. Still others say they will take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach and will not be among the first to take it when it becomes available.
What’s going on here? Could be a rejection of labeling and an emerging ethos of ‘I just don’t know what to believe anymore.’ There is a skeptical part of the younger generation who are skeptical of ‘dogmatic science’.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The current data with Biden holding his lead going into the home stretch is comforting, but to recall this stage of play in 2016 is equally discomforting. Trump’s appeal to young voters presents a quandary, and the immense Niagara of information, fake news, and disinformation clearly does play no small part in the fault-lines opening up in our society. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate – another quandary given Trump’s bellowing about his October vaccine and a much more cautious tone emerging from the scientific community. Looking forward to the details of the latest Zogby poll for Forbes next Tuesday.