In the Crossfire: An Examination of Generation Z in the Political Sphere

Photo of U.S. Capitol (Megan Diehl) 

By: Megan Diehl 

Generation Z refers to the generation born between Millennials and Generation Alpha, roughly spanning  from the birth years of 1997 to 2012 according to the Pew Research Center. According to PRRI, besides  millennials, Gen Zers are less likely to identify as Republican, but equally as likely to identify as an  independent or as a Democrat.  

Circle reported voter participation dropped significantly among young people between the 2020 and 2024  presidential elections, from over 50% of 18 to 29-year-olds voting in 2020 to an estimated 42% in 2024.  The most common reason young people did not vote is because they didn’t like their options in  candidates.  

Ayshni Tandon is a senior at Ohio University studying political science pre-law and President of the  Political Science Majors Association. She said she voted blue in the last election, but her political  alignments vary.  

“I have a lot of super moderate views,” Tandon said. “I have a lot of super left views, a lot of what you  could call libertarian views. So, I think I really differ based on policy, which policy point it is.” Liam Syrvalin, a third-year journalism major at OU and co-chair of OU’s Young Democratic Socialists of  America chapter, said he used to align with the Democrats. He said he watched Democratic primaries and  heard promises made that were not delivered on, which he finds to be common in politics. However, he  said the 2020 election made this especially clear in former President Joe Biden’s utilization of Medicare  for All in his campaign. 

“There was always a talk in the room, like a general agreement that Medicare for All is a good thing, that  people shouldn't have to go into medical debt for the rest of their lives,” he said. “That's horrifying,  especially if they want to get surgery, if they have a necessary surgery to get, they shouldn't have to live  in medical debt for the rest of their lives. That's inhumane.”

Shalon Van Tine has a BA in philosophy and master’s degrees in humanities and world history. She  teaches history and humanities courses for the University of Maryland Global Campus and teaches  incarcerated students through California State University’s prison education system. She is currently  pursuing a PhD in American History at OU. 

In an email, Van Tine said the Democratic Party has become increasingly out of touch with regular  working people, and former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign seemed to offer voters little  beyond the fact that she was not President Donald Trump. She said Biden was essentially elected for the  same reasons, but his administration did little to differentiate itself from Trump’s administration. “The fact that Harris had more billionaires supporting her than Trump surely did little to win over a  generation who has grown up in a time of unchecked capitalism that has led to staggering income  inequality and financial precarity,” Van Tine said. 

Olivia Barnes, a junior at OU in the Honors Tutorial College Business Administration program, is a co president of Bobcats for Life, a pro-life organization at OU. Barnes said she identifies as a conservative  and that the pro-life issue is at the forefront of her vote. 

“Trump was not picking the pro-life issue as one  

that he was taking up and ardently defending, he  

cares more about immigration and getting rid of  

corruption and things like that,” Barnes said. “But  

comparing the two candidates specifically on the  

pro-life issue, which is my number one, it’s a night  

and day difference, especially when you look  

beyond words and look at their actions.” 

Clare Mulvay is a sophomore at OU majoring in  

Communication Studies and English and is another  

co-president of Bobcats for Life. Mulvay said she  

holds more conservative values, specifically  

protecting the family unit. 

“It really is more about what party aligns with my  

values, and that tends to be more conservative just  

because I feel that anything that protects the family,  

Adobe Express, "Man holding sign at pro Man holds sign reading "I am the post-Roe generation" -life rally" (Adobe Express)

that’s just the fundamental building block of our  society is individual families,” Mulvay said. “And I  think anything we can do to strengthen that is  beautiful and helps us flourish.” 

However, in her prioritization of the family unit, Mulvay said she has a hard time with Trump’s stance on  immigration. 

“I think one thing I really, really don’t like about the Republican Party and Trump is his rhetoric on  immigration, so I think that’s where I differ,” she said. “I feel like we should be welcoming immigrants  and giving them as much opportunity as everyone else in this country to start a family and live happy  lives.” 

Mulvay said the main issue she had with Harris’s presidential campaign was Harris’s rhetoric on  abortion and that Democratic Party markets abortion as something that is good for women. 

Tandon said Harris did not come across  

as genuine and focused too much on  

incorporation of mainstream culture  

and celebrity support rather than  

answering questions people wanted  

answers to. Bobby Reilly, a third-year  

political science major at OU and  

Political Science Majors Association  

treasurer said he also subscribes to a  

more liberal progressive point of view,  

but that the Democratic Party continues  

to miss the mark in platforming. 

“Voting blue and viewing the modern  

Democratic Party is a lot like looking  

at a dart board and seeing the wall  

around it covered with darts and holes  

and whatnot,” Reilly said. “Nothing  

quite hits.” 

First year political science major at OU  

and Senator for the Governmental  

Affairs Commission Jayson Smith said he sees issue-driven politics lead to more disconnect between  party platforms and voters.  

“I think because people are a lot more issue driven… I noticed it led to a lot of people being dissatisfied  with both the Republican and Democratic Party,” he said.  

Tandon said the constraints of bipartisanship specifically bother her and that Americans are tired of  choosing between the lesser of two evils.  

“If it was up to me, there’d be no parties, it would just all be policy,” Tandon said. “I think that is my  biggest frustration. I feel like I have to wince when I say I vote blue, because I don’t agree with  everything that vote stands for.” 

Donald Theisen, a second-year economics and political science major at OU and Commissioner of the  Student Senate for Governmental Affairs, said students are thinking issues through instead of basing  support off party lines. He said he has seen more issue-driven political work on campus as opposed to  work associated with a specific political party. 

“It’s a kind of college campus,” Theisen said. “It’s the birthplace of intellectualism, you do see people  really, really thinking the issues through, and not just sort of associating with, ‘oh, this is [my party].” As Republican and Democratic party platforms do not hold up for some, others turn to specific political  ideologies and third parties. Syrvalin said he is hesitant to label himself politically but generally aligns  with Marxist ideology. 

“I choose to pull a little bit from a Howard Zinn quote, that’s my favorite,” he said. “I’m something of a  Marxist. I’m something of a socialist, maybe a Democratic socialist, which I think probably describes me  best.”

Signs on Ohio University's campus following demonstration (Megan Diehl)

Syrvalin said he believes in  pragmatic voting and that he  may have a minority opinion  in the socialist camp in  holding this stance. He said  he voted for Harris although  he was not outwardly  

encouraging others to do the  same largely due to her  rhetoric and inaction around  Palestine. 

“I wasn’t going to go out  there and tell other people  they needed to do that but at  the same time I am aware of  how voting works in this  country,” Syrvalin said. “I  am aware that the American  establishment will not  accept a different reality  than that. They won’t accept  a different reality than two  

parties that uphold capitalist values, and until we make that a reality, we are going to have to do lesser of  two evil voting to pick our opponent.” 

While some Gen Zers see little difference between the Democratic and Republican platforms, Mulvay  said each party takes opposing stances on issues. She said that it is human nature to separate into two  factions, but that there is still value to hearing third-party voices. 

“I do think it's important to have those third-party voices to develop your opinions,” Mulvay said. “But if  it’s not Democrats and Republicans, it’s going to be something else, in my opinion.” The dissatisfaction with both parties often lead to conversations around third parties and rank-choice  voting. However, Theisen said if nobody decides it is worth taking the chance of voting for a third-party,  these measures could be unproductive. 

“If you want [a third-party candidate] to win then  

you have to vote for them,” he said. 

Jack Meermans, a third-year English pre-law  

major at OU and Senator for the Governmental  

Affairs Commission said he was also unsure if  

there was any chance for an American  

government without the two-party system. 

“In terms of viability of getting rid of the two 

party system, I don’t really see it happening soon,  

and even in our lifetimes, with a country that’s so  

based on traditionalism,” Meermans said. “It’s  

really hard to see.” 

Barnes said that it is unlikely someone would  

identify with all stances a certain political  

platform holds, but instead of the emergence of a  

third party, Barnes said she thinks the existing  

platforms will shift.  

“I do like being able to see the variety of  

options. We should be able to have people that  

will actually represent us. That being said, I don’t  

think it is likely as a political reality, regardless of  

whether we want it or not,” she said. 

Although he wants a reality with third parties, Syrvalin also said he is not optimistic about it. He said the  Democratic and Republican parties align greatly and will not willingly give up power. “They’re not going to say, ‘no, come play with us Libertarians, come play with us, socialists, come play  with us whoever else.’ There’s a reason that there’s a two-party system, it’s not like they didn’t think of a  different possibility,” Syrvalin said. 

Van Tine said the Democratic Party has neglected its working-class base and become almost  indistinguishable from the Republican Party. Thus, she said there are few meaningful differences between  the two to voters. 

“This reality is not lost on Zoomers, who have been justifiably frustrated with the lack of viable options  for political candidates,” she said. 

In the two-party system, Reilly said many people begrudgingly vote for a candidate they do not entirely  align with. Instead, he said people end up voting for candidates that can impassion a base against the  opposite party. Rank choice voting, Reilly said, may be the solution. 

“This sort of two-party system is not conducive,” Reilly said. “It's stagnated. And the kind of politicians  that everyone has grown so fed up with, that archetype has been incentivized by our current electoral  system, the primary system, and I believe that's where this might begin to change, is if we reform our  electoral systems.”