'The shift is seismic' - Could younger voters propel Harris to a victory in Michigan?

So few students wanted to join the campus Republican party when Abigail Sefcik began studying at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) that she was rapidly voted in as its president.

- Chris McGreal

"The group was only four or five people. Nobody else wanted to do it," she said.

Four years later, Sefcik has turned her back on the Republicans and is supporting Kamala Harris for president.

"In 2020, I voted for Donald Trump. I was being sucked into his void and I said some really disparaging things about other people. I did some things that I would just really call shameful when I think of them," said the political science student, who is in her final year at university.

"But after a couple of years, I decided that there wasn't a lot that the Republicans stood for that I really cared about."

Rejecting Trump and the Republicans was one thing, but Sefcik found little to inspire her in Joe Biden's run for re-election. Then the president dropped out the race in July and Harris became the de facto Democratic candidate.

"I couldn't identify with Joe Biden as a good leader. When we were looking at a ticket with Biden and Trump, of course I was going to vote for Biden. But I would do so unwillingly because we know what the alternative would be," she said.

"Kamala Harris provides a way out for a lot of voters. Her youth, for one thing, has inspired a lot of young people."

A recent Harvard Kennedy School poll gives Harris a two-to-one lead over Trump among voters aged 18 to 29. Harris has the support of 64% of younger voters to 32% for Trump, principally because of significantly higher approval ratings on the issues of the climate crisis, abortion rights and healthcare. Harris also scores much better with younger voters on empathy, reliability and honesty.

The Kennedy School polling director, John Della Volpe, said the findings showed "a significant shift in the overall vibe and preferences of young Americans" in favor of Harris compared with Biden.