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< It's easy to believe young voters could back Trump at young conservative conference

It's easy to believe young voters could back Trump at young conservative conference

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LAUREN FRAYER, HOST:

In Detroit this weekend, young conservatives celebrating being young conservatives - it's the yearly conference of the group Turning Point Action, and it wraps up today. NPR's Elena Moore covers young voters, and she joins us now from Detroit. Hi, Elena.

ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Good morning.

FRAYER: Good morning. So former President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address there last night. Was it tailored to this younger audience?

MOORE: I mean, not really. He hit on his big points and criticized President Biden's record, pointing to rising prices and the need for tougher immigration reform. He did have some Michigan-focused lines about building up the American auto industry. You know, you got to do that in a key swing state that could decide the election.

But specifically on young voters, we didn't hear much, even though Trump is really no stranger to these events. He even did one with Turning Point in Arizona earlier this month. And in some ways, the whole weekend is an ode to Trump. It's basically like a big party for young conservatives and political wonks who love to cheer on their favorite conservative firebrands.

FRAYER: So Turning Point has become influential in Republican politics over the past few years. Does the group have a role with Trump beyond this weekend as he continues to campaign?

MOORE: Yeah, sort of. Earlier this spring, the group launched its Chase the Vote initiative, which is a major organizing campaign for them focused on low-propensity voters. And Trump actually endorsed the plan not that long ago, and his campaign is set to work with Turning Point on canvassing. That's according to Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet. He told me that while Turning Point has done organizing before, this new program is really stepping it up a level, since they're looking to raise a lot of cash and hire organizers in different states.

ANDREW KOLVET: It's night and day. Any activities we did, you know, like, in 2022, for example, in the midterms, were like the Stone Age compared to the level of sophistication and just the resources that we've poured into this project.

FRAYER: Elena, how are attendees feeling about November?

MOORE: Enthusiasm for Trump is high. I spoke with more than a dozen voters under 30 over the past few days who remain very much committed to him. I heard a few things over and over. They like that he pushes for isolationist ideas and focuses on domestic issues like the economy and immigration. Here's how 21-year-old Elaina Luca from Berkeley, Mich., put it.

ELAINA LUCA: Not saying that other places don't matter, but we should matter first. We should make sure that we're all OK. Like, when you're in a family, you make sure that your family's OK first.

MOORE: Luca has two small children and is concerned about rising prices. She wants to buy a house one day but is worried she'll never pay it off. I also made a point to ask voters about Trump's recent guilty verdict, and among these very conservative young folks, it has little effect. Here's how 21 - here's how 20-year-old James Hart put it to me.

JAMES HART: I don't really think, at this point, anyone's feelings changed. I think everyone knows who they're going to vote for. We know Trump. We know - trust me. We know Joe Biden. We know exactly who these people are. And nothing about the conviction really changes anything for me.

MOORE: And, Lauren, while some polling indicates a guilty verdict could actually move younger voters more broadly towards Biden, that is obviously certainly not the case among these voters.

FRAYER: So we do know that younger voters traditionally favor Democrats over Republicans. Zooming out from this one group at this one gathering, does Trump have traction with young voters this year?

MOORE: I mean, President Biden overwhelmingly won among voters under 30 four years ago, but his support here has dipped. Some are concerned about his handling of those same issues - the economy and immigration - as well as the war in Gaza.

And when I go out and talk with Democratic-leaning young voters, many are not on the Trump train because of his policy, but they're not sure they can support Biden, and because of that, they may sit it out in November. And that potential lack of support for Biden could really benefit Trump, especially in these key swing states with really small margins like Michigan.

FRAYER: That's NPR's Elena Moore. Elena, thanks.

MOORE: Thank you.

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