Exit Poll: Gender and Age

This Navigator Research report is the sixth in a series of releases of findings from our post-election survey among 5,000 self-reported 2024 general election voters. This release focuses on how gender and age groups voted in the 2024 election, including what issues mattered most when deciding who to vote for, and how vote shares compared to that of the 2020 election.

Trump overperformed compared to 2020 among young Americans, with Harris losing the most ground among young men.

Overall, men voted for Trump by 11 points (43 percent Harris – 54 percent Trump), a 9 point swing from 2020 when Trump won by 2 points. Women voted for Harris by 6 points (51 percent Harris – 45 percent Trump), a 4 point swing from 2020, when Biden won these voters by 10 points.  Americans under the age of 45 voted for Harris by a 2-point margin (49 percent Harris – 47 percent Trump), a 17 point swing from 2020 when Biden won these voters by 19 points (58 percent Biden – 39 percent Trump). Men under the age of 45 voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election by an 8-point margin (44 percent Harris – 52 percent Trump), a 16-point shift from 2020, where the group voted for Biden by an 8-point margin. Women under 45 also shifted 5 points, voting for Harris by a margin of 10-points (52 percent Harris – 42 percent Trump), where they voted for Biden by a 15-point margin. 

• Americans under the age of 30 voted for Harris by 4 points (50 percent Harris – 46 percent Trump), though young men and women diverged dramatically, with men under 30 voting for Trump by 16 points (41 percent Harris – 57 percent Trump), and women under 30 voting for Harris by 24 points (59 percent Harris – 35 percent Trump). 
• Majorities of young men rated Trump favorably going into Election Day, with 52 percent of men under the age of 45 and 52 percent of men between the ages of 45 and 64 rating him favorably. These same groups were deeply unfavorable of Harris, with majorities of men across age groups rating her unfavorably by double digit margins (men 18-44; net -12, men 45-64; net -16, men 65+; net -21).
• Women were more likely to have favorable views of Kamala Harris going into Election Day. A majority of younger women, between under the age of 45, rated the Vice President favorably (52 percent favorable – 45 percent unfavorable), as did a majority of women over the age of 65 (54 percent favorable – 46 percent unfavorable).

Young men, a group deeply pessimistic about Biden’s handling of the economy, voted for Trump by 8-points in 2024.

Young men and women most strongly disapproved of President Biden’s handling of the economy, with men across age groups having the strongest retrospective approval of Donald Trump. Two in three men and women between under the age 45 disapproved of President Biden’s handling of the economy (63 percent of women 18-44, 63 percent of men 18-44), with both groups also disapproving of Biden’s overall job performance as president by 30-point margins (women 18-44; 33 percent approve – 63 percent disapprove, men 18-44; 34 percent approve – 64 percent disapprove). When it came to retrospectively rating President Trump’s handling of the presidency, younger women were still negative (net -6; 46 percent approve – 52 percent disapprove), while men across age groups approved of his handling of the presidency by double digit margins (men 18-44; net +16, men 45-54; net +15, men 65+; net +16). 

• Women believed the country was off on the wrong track by a 40-point margin going into election day (64 percent off on the wrong track – 24 percent headed in right direction), compared to men who said the same by a 30-point margin (61 percent off on the wrong track – 31 percent headed in right direction).

Across age and gender, economic issues had large effects on the way Americans voted.

Over two in five voters listed inflation and the cost of living among the top three issues affecting their vote (43 percent), with immigration and the border and jobs and the economy trailing not far behind (31 percent each). Inflation and the cost of living was most frequently listed as a top issue among men and women (42 percent and 45 percent, respectively), with women being 3-points more likely to list it as the most important issue affecting their vote (net +3; 21 percent women – 18 percent men).  Women were also more likely than men to list abortion among their top issues, with three in ten listing abortion among their top three issues (29 percent), compared to only 17 percent of men. Men were more likely than women to list immigration as a top issue impacting their vote, with 34 percent of men listing it among their top three issues impacting their vote and 28 percent of women doing the same. 

• Younger women under the age of 45 were the most likely to list abortion as a top issue affecting their vote, with one in three naming it among their top issues (36 percent). Among women above the age of 65, abortion was less of a primary concern with only one in four listing it among their top three issues (24 percent), instead citing Social Security and Medicare as a driving issue to vote (37 percent). 
• Men over the age of 65 were the most likely to list immigration as a top issue affecting their vote (43 percent), followed by men between the ages of 45 and 64 (37 percent), and women above the age of 65 (34 percent).

Young men saw a range of economic issues as a reason to support Donald Trump, while young women trusted Harris more to reduce costs.

Men under the age of 45 saw inflation as more of a reason to support Donald Trump than Kamala Harris by 19 points, and similarly saw the state of the national economy as more of a reason to support Trump by an 18-point margin. When it came to reducing costs for normal people, younger women under the age of 45 saw it as more of a reason to support Harris (net +7), while young men believed reducing costs was more of a reason to support Trump (net -10). Younger men also saw the cost of housing as more of a reason to support Trump (net -14), while younger women definitively saw housing as more of a reason to support Harris (net +7). 

• The status of abortion laws and access to affordable healthcare and the future of the Affordable Care Act were both seen as reasons to support Harris across age and gender, with 49 percent of the overall electorate seeing abortion as more of a reason to support Harris (net +18; 49 percent Harris – 31 percent Trump) and 48 percent of the overall electorate believing health care was more of a reason to support Harris (net +14; 48 percent Harris – 34 percent Trump).

Young men went into Election Day with pessimism on the economy, favorability of Joe Rogan, and a belief that Donald Trump was a strong and decisive leader.

Among men under the age of 45, one of the key groups Harris lost the most ground with in the 2024 election, there was a strong dissatisfaction with the economy going into Election Day (net -32; 33 percent positive rating of the economy – 65 percent negative rating of the economy), as well as strong disapproval of President Biden (net -30; 34 percent approve – 64 percent disapprove). This group also considered Donald Trump to be better described as a “strong and decisive leader” than Kamala Harris (net -19; 37 percent describes Harris – 56 percent describes Trump). Young men also had double-digit favorability of both Donald Trump and Joe Rogan (net +16 and net +21, respectively).