Today, the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs (NYSYR) announced the results of its straw poll for the Republican presidential primary, which was conducted internally between January 20, 2024, and January 22, 2024, among the organization’s membership, Millennial and Gen-Z voters between the ages of 18 and 40 years old who are a registered Republican residing in the state. The survey received 417 responses electronically using a secure form that restricted duplicate responses.
TRUMP FAVORITE AMONG NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICANS
The survey found that 55% of Young Republican respondents — a decisive majority — support President Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee to challenge President Joe Biden in the November election. Ambassador Nikki Haley ranked a distant second, at 29%, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ranked as the least favorite of all remaining major candidates at 13%. Despite suspending his campaign for the presidency, DeSantis was kept in this survey since it began when he was still an active candidate. Only 4% of respondents said they would prefer someone else — further demonstrating that New York Republican voters under the age of 40 firmly support a Republican ticket with Trump at the top.
AFFORDABILITY, IMMIGRATION, FOREIGN POLICY TOP LIST OF CONCERNS
The survey also found that a majority of respondents — 51% — were most concerned about the state of the economy and affordability. This is consistent with data collected in other polls, both statewide and nationwide, and is also consistent with trends in both major political parties. Immigration, specifically the ongoing migrant crisis, ranked as the second most concerning issue at 23%, while foreign policy, amid multiple conflicts overseas and deteriorating relations with major world powers, ranked as the third most important concern at 10%. Despite the remaining 16% of respondents identifying an issue they perceive to be the most concerning, no other issue — on a list that ranged from abortion access to election integrity — received a large enough share of the vote to be recognized.
“The results of this survey truly come as no surprise — for many of our Young Republicans, their introduction to the world of politics was Donald Trump and his America First agenda, which was responsible for a great period of economic prosperity and respect as a global superpower,” said NYSYR Chairman Peter Giunta. “This is confirmed by the top three issues identified in our survey as the most concerning to these young voters. Under Joe Biden’s presidency, affordability has rapidly declined, the crisis at our southern border has made every community a border community, and a series of global conflicts have created mass uncertainty about the future of our nation. No group has been as adversely affected by these policies as Millenial and Gen-Z Americans, and for that, history will remember Joe Biden as this generation’s weakest and least effective president, while Donald Trump will be remembered as this generation’s greatest.”
Giunta continued: “Regardless of who our nominee is in the end, Young Republicans understand that this is a fight worth fighting — and this year, we are united and more invested than ever in the fight to take back New York and save America!”
Enrollment in the organization, which is recognized as the official youth auxiliary of the New York Republican State Committee (NYGOP) has more than doubled in recent years, surpassing 2,500 members across the state with active chapters in every region of the state, including all five boroughs of New York City, all of Long Island, much of the Hudson Valley, and across Western and Central New York. Last summer, the group launched its first North Country chapter in over a decade and has plans to launch another this spring.
“In New York, the greatest recruiter for the Young Republicans has been Joe Biden, Kathy Hochul, and New York Democrats,” said Giunta. “Young New Yorkers of all backgrounds are beginning to recognize the desperate lies and empty promises made by this dastardly trio. It’s this army of Young Republicans that, in 2022, helped to shatter the myth that New York is and always will be a blue state.”
You can view the full results here.