State of Democra-Z: Minnesota college students say the economy matters to Gen Z, too

CATHY WURZER: The 2024 presidential election is just seven months away. And the economy is a major issue in any election year for voters of all ages. A survey by Tufts University finds the cost of living and inflation are among the top issues for voters aged 18 to 34, which includes Gen Z and some millennials.

With the campaigns chugging along, we wanted to check in with two voters from the fastest-growing generation in the electorate. Joining us right now to share their thoughts for the latest in our series "The State of Democra-Z" are Will Pierce and Cory Hallada.

Will is a junior at Macalester College in Saint Paul, studying political science. He's also a leader of Macalester Democrats. Cory is a junior at Saint Olaf College in Northfield studying political science and economics. Earlier this year, he worked with the Trump campaign in New Hampshire. It's good to hear your voices. How are you, Will? How are you, Cory?

WILL PIERCE: Doing all right. Thanks for having us.

CORY HALLADA: Yeah. Doing good. Thank you for having me.

CATHY WURZER: Glad you could join us right now. I'm going to start with you, Will. Does that study I mentioned ring true in your life? What do you think? Is the cost of living or inflation a real big issue for you?

WILL PIERCE: I'd definitely say it's something everyone's conscious of. We see it when we go to the grocery store. We see it at the gas station. We see it when we're renting apartments every year and trying to find new places to live near campus.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's the biggest issue when going into the ballot box, though, at least not from my peers and the folks I've been talking to. I think there are a number of social issues that rank much higher than the economy this year for folks in college and around here.

CATHY WURZER: For instance, give me the top two, perhaps.

WILL PIERCE: Oh, wow, top two. I'd say the ongoing conflict in Gaza is definitely one of the top issues. I'd put gun violence up there, queer rights, and climate crisis. I know that's more than two. That's what you asked for, but.

CATHY WURZER: Appreciate that. Say, Cory, because you are an economics major, how is the economy playing into how you're thinking about issues?

CORY HALLADA: Yeah. I might actually agree that the economy might not be my biggest issue, but I certainly do think about it. And maybe part of that is because still as a college student, I'm not fully living on my own and seeing that every day. But it certainly does play into things, especially with limited financial resources as a college student.

I do think a lot about how far my money's going. And it seems that my money doesn't last as long as I sometimes expect it to. So it certainly is important to me.

CATHY WURZER: What's the top issue for you at this point?

CORY HALLADA: I would say for me, I'm a pro-life advocate. So abortion is usually my top issue. But I understand that it seems that this might not be a major issue in this election. Some people might disagree with me. But that's always been my top issue.

CATHY WURZER: OK. Let me ask you a little bit more about the economy if I could drill down on that for just a moment.

CORY HALLADA: Yeah, for sure.

CATHY WURZER: Which candidate do you trust more with decisions about the economy?

CORY HALLADA: I do trust Donald Trump more with the economy. And I did work for him, of course. And I tend to just align with him more as a conservative on economic policy, usually-- less regulation, especially for issues like energy. Especially growing up in California, I've seen very high gas prices and things along those lines. So I do think that I trust him more with the economy.

CATHY WURZER: And, Will, I know you said that social issues are kind of top of your mind, but how satisfied are you with the president's handling of the economy, in particular, say, inflation?

WILL PIERCE: I think it's definitely a big issue. Cory, I feel you also coming from California, and high gas prices, and stuff like that where I grew up. While it is a big issue, I think part of the reason I don't, at least, view it as the top issue going into the ballot box, especially for the presidential race this coming fall, is because I know that Joe Biden or whoever's in the White House doesn't wake up one morning and flip a switch and say, this is the gas price.

There's a lot of different things that go into that. And I know that it's an ongoing combination of policies, and corporate decisions, and resources available around the world. So for me, I view that less as a decision or something that's highly impacted by the White House.

But I definitely do trust Joe Biden more personally with the economy. Coming out of the pandemic here and going forward, I trust that he'll be more in line with my views. I mean, I also worked for him a number of years ago.

CATHY WURZER: Say, let me ask you about leadership here for just a moment. Of course, obviously, lots of headlines about the impact that former President Trump's legal problems are having on his finances. And you all know he built his political career on his image as a businessman. I'm wondering here, Cory, have the trials influenced your view of Trump as a leader?

CORY HALLADA: That is a really good question. I think maybe somewhat, but I think that mostly, I'm still kind of waiting for a lot of these trials to play out. And he's always been a pretty controversial figure as long as he's been in politics.

Yeah, he seems to have rustled some feathers, for sure. So at least for now, I don't think it's affected my view too much, though. It's certainly not something you want to see working on his campaign.

CATHY WURZER: Will, what do you think?

WILL PIERCE: I think it has affected people's view of him-- or maybe I should say, I hope it has. I think to have that many indictments against someone running for president, I think, really says something about the candidate-- that he's not the most trustworthy, that he's not the most honest. And I'll definitely be interested to see how the alignment of those trials plays out for the rest of the election.

CATHY WURZER: I want to ask about this new Axios Generation Lab poll that came out, I don't know if you all saw it. 58% of voters between the ages of 18 and 34, Gen Z, younger millennials, are not sure if they're going to vote in November. Do both of you plan on voting? Cory?

CORY HALLADA: Yeah, I absolutely plan on voting.

CATHY WURZER: And Will?

WILL PIERCE: Yes, absolutely.

CATHY WURZER: However, do you worry about the outcome of the election if your counterparts sit it out, Will?

WILL PIERCE: Yes, 100% to that as well. I think there's some strong messages that can be sent. And we saw in the Minnesota primaries, and then more recently in the Wisconsin primaries, too, that undecided vote, especially from young folks-- folks of our generation-- is huge, and I think can send a really big message to the White House. However, I am scared if our generation decides to sit it out.

We have such a big generation, as you've been saying, Cathy. And we have so much power with the ballot if we choose to show up. If we decide to show up, we can control elections across the country. But if we don't, we then leave that decision and all of the decisions those elected members will make up to older folks who might not share all the same views and opinions as we do.

CATHY WURZER: Cory, what do you think of this?

CORY HALLADA: Yeah, it's certainly a weird position for me because I totally understand that most young people don't really align with me a lot politically. But with that said, I still think it's very important for our generation to stay engaged. And I think for a long time, younger voters haven't been reached out to as much because there's this perception that we often don't show up to the polls. So it would send a very important message to politicians if young people were to mobilize and could totally swing this election.

CATHY WURZER: Of course, it's been said that young folks like you are just not really that fired up about the candidates. They're old white guys, and young folks are looking for a little younger individuals, perhaps. Do you buy into that, Cory?

CORY HALLADA: Yeah. Unfortunately, I do. For me personally, yeah, I do definitely think that a lot of people my age kind of do share that idea that the candidates are maybe not the most to be excited about. But I think what really stands out to me is that most people are not like me and Will, and that most people don't care too much about politics.

So kind of regardless of who the candidate is going to be, there are going to be a lot of people that aren't particularly ever excited about politics. And it's always a challenge getting them out to vote.

CATHY WURZER: And what do you think, Will?

WILL PIERCE: I definitely have to agree with some of that-- I think it is hard to get our generation out to the polls. But I think a large part of that is because they don't see that representation in elected offices. And often, that push, especially in presidential years, to go to the polls does not come from down-ballot candidates and issues.

It comes from the presidential campaigns. So even if we are seeing that representation and that alignment of values in those lower offices, that doesn't always translate to voter turnout. And I think a lot of our generation is really politically active or has strong political opinions, but they don't see that change that they were looking for coming from elected office, and especially not offices like the presidency.

CATHY WURZER: You both are just very interesting to talk to. I've really enjoyed these conversations we've been having with young folks like you. Thanks for taking the time. I hope I get to talk to you again sometime soon.

WILL PIERCE: Thank you so much, Cathy.

CORY HALLADA: Yeah. Thank you so much.

CATHY WURZER: Cory Hallada is a junior at Saint Olaf College in Northfield. Will Pierce is a junior at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Hey, if you'll be between the ages of 18 and 27 by November, we want to hear your thoughts on the election. Send an email to MinnesotaNow@mpr.org.