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GenZ for Biden? Why age isn鈥檛 turning away youngest US voters.

Youth activists, defying recent narratives, are coming out to support President Biden ahead of the 2024 general election. Mr. Biden鈥檚 age is of less concern than his receptiveness to GenZ voters鈥 concerns, a Parkland shooting survivor and activist says.

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Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
President Joe Biden (left) departs St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on March 10, 2024, after attending Mass.

Jack Lobel is a college sophomore who will be voting in his first presidential election this fall, casting a ballot for Joe Biden.

At 19, he鈥檚 six-plus decades Mr. Biden鈥檚 junior, which isn鈥檛 lost on him. But Mr. Lobel is spokesperson for Voters of Tomorrow, one of 15 youth organizations that announced March 11 that they are jointly endorsing the reelection of the oldest president in U.S. history 鈥 defying polls consistently showing voter concerns about the 81-year-old Mr. Biden鈥檚 age.

鈥淚f age were really a concern we would not see this much energy around these groups,鈥 said Mr. Lobel, an urban studies major in New York. As he worked on hammering out the joint endorsement this week, he was also writing a paper for his American urban politics class and taking a midterm in his voting and political behavior class.

鈥淧resident Biden comes before midterms and exams and papers,鈥 Mr. Lobel said, only half-joking.

The joint endorsement is meant as a show of political strength for Mr. Biden, who would be 86 by the end of the second term he鈥檚 seeking 鈥 after聽Super Tuesday all but cemented聽a November rematch of the 2020 election between him and former President Donald Trump.

The groups鈥 affinity for the president is little surprise given that young people tend to be more left-leaning than many other voting blocs. Still, it may soften the blow of many voters鈥 concerns about Mr. Biden鈥檚聽age. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research聽survey聽found that 63% of Americans believe Mr. Biden lacks mental capability to serve effectively as president, though 57% felt similar about Mr. Trump, who is 77.

In the first ad of a聽$30-million, post-Super-Tuesday, swing-state advertising blitz, Mr. Biden聽makes no excuses for his age, but says he鈥檚 been more effective as president than Mr. Trump was.

鈥淵oung voters are critical to President Biden鈥檚 winning coalition and together, we will defeat Donald Trump and continue to build a future that works for every single American,鈥 said Mr. Biden鈥檚 reelection campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, in a statement first shared with The Associated Press.

Joining Voters of Tomorrow formally supporting Mr. Biden is NextGen PAC, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Blue Future, Jr. Newtown Action Alliance, Path to Progress, Students Demand Action, Team ENOUGH, Voices of Gen-Z, and Dream for America. They are doing so with more traditional, party-aligned youth organizations, the Young Democrats of America, College Democrats of America, Democratic Youth Coalition, Grassroots Dems HQ, and High School Democrats of America.

The announcement on March 11 follows similar joint endorsements the Biden campaign received last year from聽labor unions,聽environmental activists,聽abortion rights advocates,聽and聽gun safety proponents聽鈥撀燼nd some of the endorsing youth organizations are affiliated with groups that already backed the president in previously.

The president鈥檚 campaign said that the earlier endorsements were the first of their kind to be made jointly and so early in the cycle. But there is still eight months to mobilize behind Mr. Biden now that it鈥檚 clear he鈥檒l face Mr. Trump in November.

Mr. Trump and top Republicans have blasted Mr. Biden as being too old to handle a second term. A Super PAC backing the former president released an ad bluntly declaring, 鈥淚f Biden wins, can he even survive till 2029?鈥 That鈥檚 despite Mr. Trump making聽gaffes himself lately, including suggesting he鈥檚聽running against Barack Obama.

But Aalayah Eastmond, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Florida and co-founder of Team ENOUGH, said Mr. Biden鈥檚 age wasn鈥檛 a consideration in the endorsement given that 鈥渙ur only concern is whether we go forward or backward on one of the most pressing issues of our time.鈥

鈥淲hat鈥檚 most important to America鈥檚 youth is having a president who listens to our concerns and knows how to deliver on solutions that improve our lives,鈥 Ms. Eastmond said.

The activist groups plan to pool resources to hire hundreds of young organizers, mobilize affiliates, and chapters on 1,000-plus campuses and at state and local levels, and make more than 155 million direct voter contacts via phone calls, texts or in person, Mr. Lobel said.

He said that job creation and the economy were top concerns, noting that 鈥測oung voters are still voters.鈥 Still, Mr. Lobel also said that especially important to his age group are Biden administration efforts to cancel student debt for millions of Americans, protect abortion rights, and promote green energy and public works projects around the country.

鈥淎s GenZers, these are the numbers we care about,鈥 Mr. Lobel said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e voting based on what he鈥檚 delivering for us.鈥

This story was reported by The Associated Press.

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