By Brianna Kraemer
Carolina Journal
Political leanings among young North Carolina voters are indicating a shift toward more conservative viewpoints as Republican registrations among 18 to 25-year-olds grew significantly between 2020 and 2024, while Democrats have seen a decline in Gen Z voters over the same period.
Between 2020 and 2024, Republican voter registrations saw significant growth among the 18-25 age group, particularly among young men. Data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections shows a net gain of 10,912 young Republicans. The net gain includes 17,432 young men and 5,164 young women contributing to the growth, minus a drop of 11,684 undisclosed young voters.
Meanwhile, the number of registered Democrats in the 18-25 age group has decreased by 39,056 over the same four-year span, including losses among both men and women.
“While unaffiliated has by far seen the largest growth since 2020, it’s notable that Republicans have seen increases in both men and women for 18-25, with men of that category now outnumbering those who register Democrat,” explained Jim Stirling, a research fellow at the John Locke Foundation. “While Republicans did see growth from 2021 in the registration of young women, they still see losses of 5,000 compared to the registration numbers from 2016.”
The rising Republican registration among young men has yet to be fully explained, though one plausible factor could be the influence of alternative media sources. As Gen Z, and particularly young men, increasingly consume content from diverse platforms, the media landscape shift could be impacting their political leanings.
“While I have not seen any definitive explanation for the incline of young men to register Republicans, one explanation could be the changes in the type of media young men are gravitating toward and a message from Democrats not resonating with young men,” Stirling added.
Trust in national news organizations has plummeted over the years, while trust in alternative media sources has grown. Adults under 30 hold the least amount of trust in national media (56%), while trust in information that comes from social media sites (52%) has grown to almost an identical amount among young adults, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
“Across most age groups, Americans remain far less likely to trust information from social media sites than from national and local news organizations. But the youngest adults are an exception,” a Pew report states.
While the share of Americans who prefer to get their news from social media or podcasts has increased since 2020, the preference for news websites has decreased.
“Digital sources have become an important part of Americans’ news diets – with social media playing a crucial role, particularly for younger adults,” a report states.
News consumers on Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X and Reddit tend to be younger than those on other sites. Notably, 53% of Snapchat users who regularly consume news on the platform are between the ages of 18 and 29, making it the only platform where more than half of a specific age group engages with its news content regularly.
North Carolina voter registration numbers seem to reflect broader cultural trends, including a large and growing gender gap.
As the news and media landscapes continue to evolve with advancing technology platforms, historical patterns are likely to continue shifting in new ways as Gen Alpha enters the electorate for the first time, reflecting their unique experiences within cultural and political movements.
