ICYMI: HIT Research Manager Ashley Aylward Pens TIME Op Ed on Gen Z Voters

TIME Op Ed Emphasizes Gen Z Voters’ Increasing Political Power and Role Staving Off Republican Advances in the Midterms

Washington, DC | November 15^th – In case you missed it, TIME recently published an Op Ed by Research Manager Ashley Aylward. She draws on HIT’s qualitative and quantitative research to explain why Gen Z voters turned out in large numbers and decisively backed Democrats in the midterms—this research is also outlined in our Youth Mobilization Memo. Ashley argues that young voters surged for Democrats as a response to abortion bans and as an affirmation of some statewide Democrats’ savvy and authentic use of social media (see: John Fetterman, Gretchen Whitmer).

The article was also featured on several TIME Podcasts and on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

TIME: How Gen Z Held Off the Red Wave
TIME Ideas | Ashley Aylward | November 10^th

Key points 

• “Many political operatives base their decisions on polls with a strict definition of likely voters, leaving young people vastly underrepresented.”

• “in our national poll with URGE following the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in May, 65% of Gen Z voters reported that abortion access was an important part of their decision to go vote. We’ve seen this energy play out across the electoral map, buoyed by Democrats’ 9-figure investment in ads on abortion.” 

• “Fetterman brought this youthful zeal to his campaign, in part because his Digital Director, Sophie Ota, age 26, is a borderline Gen Z-er herself. Fetterman communicates through memes and liberally deploys emojis. He posts throwback photos and is snappy with his quote tweets. Young people want to see themselves in our political leaders.

• “Gen Z-ers are the most diverse generation in American history. In 1969, the Boomer generation were just 18% non-white. Today, 48% of Gen Zers are people of color. This unique identity, along with their growing numbers, will permanently upend our political system.”

About HIT Strategies 
As Washington’s leading millennial and minority-owned public opinion research company, HIT Strategies helps progressive leaders and organizations translate the values and attitudes of target audiences into real-time insights. We understand America’s fastest-growing electorate and consumer groups and specialize in targeting communities under-represented in public opinion, including Black Americans, Latino Americans, Millennials + Genz, LGBTQ+, Women, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Visit hitstrat.com and follow @HITStrat on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.