Two weeks before the 2024 presidential election, a new YouGov survey explores how voters are feeling about casting their vote for president, how they’ll feel in the event of a Harris victory or a Trump victory, and how they’ve taken action this year.
64% of Americans care a lot about who wins the presidential election this fall, up from 54% who said the same in April. 74% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans say they care a great deal about who wins the 2024 election. In April, 57% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans said the same.
While the prospect of either outcome in the election is polarizing, a Trump win generally would provoke more extreme reactions in both directions than a Harris win.
If Kamala Harris were to win the election, 29% of Americans would feel enthusiastic, 17% would feel satisfied but not enthusiastic, 11% would feel dissatisfied but not upset, and 33% would feel upset. 66% of Democrats would be enthusiastic if Harris were to win and 4% would be upset; 4% of Republicans would be enthusiastic if she were to win and 72% would be upset.
If Donald Trump were to win the election, 32% of Americans would feel enthusiastic, 13% would feel satisfied but not enthusiastic, 8% would feel dissatisfied but not upset, and 38% would feel upset. 3% of Democrats would be enthusiastic if Trump were to win and 75% would be upset; 76% of Republicans would be enthusiastic if he were to win and 3% would be upset.
Compared with 2016 and 2020 polls, both Democrats and Republicans are more enthusiastic this time about the prospect of their candidate winning. In October 2016, 45% of Republicans said they would be enthusiastic if Trump won; in October 2020, 67% said the same. In 2016, 51% of Democrats said they would be enthusiastic if Hillary Clinton won; in 2020, 61% said this about a Joe Biden win.
For some, enthusiasm about a candidate has translated to political action. 42% of Americans, including 54% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans, say they’ve talked to friends or family to advocate for a political position or opinion. 26% have posted on social media to advocate for a political position or opinion, 21% have signed a petition about a political issue, and 17% have donated to a political candidate or advocacy organization. 57% have done at least one of these, including 67% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans.
Americans are about as likely to feel burned out (26%) as they are energized (24%) about taking political action right now. 40% are feeling neither of the above.
Most Americans are reading or hearing news about the 2024 presidential election daily (58%). 46% of Americans — including 58% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans — say they actively seek out news about the 2024 election. Fewer Americans (14%) actively avoid news about the election, and 40% say they do neither. In April 2024, only 35% of Americans said they were actively seeking out news about the 2024 presidential election. 16% were actively avoiding it, and 49% said they were doing neither.
Most Americans have used at least one social media platform as a source for election news within the last month. The most common social media news source is YouTube, which 33% say they’ve gone to for election news in the last month. Other popular sources include Facebook (30%) and X/Twitter (23%).
Adults under 30 are more likely than older Americans to use many of these platforms as election news sources. They’re more likely to get election news from YouTube (40% of adults under 30 vs. 31% of older Americans), X//Twitter (36% vs. 19%), Instagram (27% vs. 14%), and TikTok (24% vs. 10%).
19% of Americans say they’ve seen more social media posts about Harris, while 16% say they’ve seen more social media posts about Trump. 20% have seen an equal number of social media posts about both, and 29% say neither.
Another way Americans have been exposed to candidates’ messaging is through TV ads: 32% say they’ve seen more TV ads for Harris while 9% have seen more for Trump. Americans are more likely to say they’ve seen more news stories about Trump (23%) rather than Harris (16%); the same is true for conversations they’ve been having (22% vs. 15%).
Most registered voters are at least somewhat enthusiastic (80%) about voting in the 2024 presidential election, including 60% who are very enthusiastic. Identical shares of Democratic and Republican voters describe themselves as very enthusiastic (64% for both).
Voters under 30 are the least likely age group to describe themselves as very enthusiastic about voting, at (43%). Among voters 65 and older, 70% say they’re very enthusiastic about voting in the 2024 presidential election.
In September 2020, voters were similarly enthusiastic about voting in that year’s presidential election: 63% were very enthusiastic and 17% were somewhat enthusiastic. Republican voters (90%) were more likely than Democratic voters (82%) to be at least somewhat enthusiastic about voting in the 2020 election at the time.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
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See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on October 18 - 20, 2024 among 1,081 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
