Poll reveals 2028 Democratic hopeful LEAST liked among young voters (2025)

A recent Yale University Youth Poll has identified Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman as the least favored potential 2028 Democratic candidate among young voters.

The Spring 2025 Yale Youth Poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 self-identified registered voters aged 18 to 29, found that Fetterman registered a dismal -17.2 net favorability among young voters.

The blatant disliking of the Pennsylvania senator stood out as a stark contrast to the +60 net favorability enjoyed by other Democratic figures like former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.

The surprisingly low ranking places Fetterman in the same unfavorable category as ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who garnered a negative net favorability of -16.9 among Democrats.

Both men were the only two figures tested with negative net favorability ratings among Democrats, according to the poll.

The survey's shocking findings, however, may come as a surprise to Fetterman, who has been considered a potential frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic nomination.

His poor favorability among young voters - a demographic that has increasingly become a cornerstone of the Democratic base - now raises questions regarding the embattled Senator's actual viability as a candidate in the upcoming election cycle.

Political analysts suggest Fetterman's struggles with young voters may stem from several factors, including his centrist positions and past collaborations with Republicans.

Such stances may not resonate with the more progressive leanings of the younger electorate, who have demonstrated a preference for candidates with more liberal stances on issues like immigration and social justice.

'It seems like [Fetterman] really does not want to open his mind at all,' Kinnan Abdalhamid, a Palestinian-American student at Haverford College on Philadelphia's mainline told Teen Vogue in June 2024.

'I was very bewildered and aggravated [by his stance],' another student by the name of Mitch, disclosed to the teen-centric publication last year.

Mitch, who asked to withhold their last name to protect their privacy, also said: 'He ran this whole stance on being progressive.

'Now it's just really shocking to see how he's completely turned on a dime to betray all of the people who voted for him. I definitely feel like he has betrayed the trust of his constituents.'

The Yale Youth Poll also highlighted the rising influence of alternative figures within the Democratic party like the Former United States Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.

Meanwhile, Smith's unexpected appearance in the 2028 presidential polls has since sparked discussions about the party's 'bench strength' and its appeal to younger voters.

Smith himself - a longtime sports television personality - has expressed skepticism about his inclusion in the polls, suggesting that his presence suggests a 'lack of compelling options' in the ailing party.

'They talk and they talk and they talk. But what can they do? They position themselves to do absolutely nothing,' Smith said during an interview with ABC News on Sunday.

'What is it? What is it going to take to get the job done? That's why somebody who's a sports analyst, for crying out loud, is in the daggone on polls. Yeah, it's not, it's not somebody big upping in me. It's an indictment against a Democratic Party that doesn't have leadership. It doesn't have a vision,' he concluded.

However, the telling poll also showed a slight favoritism toward the struggling Democratic party with a +6.4 net favorability among voters aged 22 to 29.

But, among voters ages 18 to 21, the generic ballot came in at +11.7 net favorable lean in favor of the Republican party.

The survey also found that if the 2028 Republican primary were held now, 50 percent of Republican voters under the age of 30 would support Vice President JD Vance.

The Yale Youth Poll was conducted entirely online between April 1 to April 3, pulling from a sample of 4,100 registered voters, of which 2,025 were under the age of 30.

The survey reported a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percentage points for the full sample of 4,100 respondents and +/- 1.8 percentage points for those under 30.

Another pollconducted by polling guru Nate Silver earlier this monthrevealed the most likely Democrat to challenge President Donald Trump's 'MAGA dynasty' as New York Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.

Silver made the bold claim in a video for his Silver Bulletin Substack on Wednesday alongside journalist Galen Druke, who actually brought up AOC as a viable contender first.

'That was going to be my f***ing pick!' Silver exclaimed. 'We both are on the AOC bus.'

Silver explained that he picked AOC 'because of some of the polling, because she has this kind of progressive lane, probably not to herself, because she is younger and media savvy.'

He pointed to polls that showed her leading Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should she try to challenge him for his New York Senate seat.

Silver said he thought this could mean that she has appeal beyond the progressive left as New York Democrats are actually 'a pretty moderate lot.'

'I think there's a lot of points in her favor at this very moment,' Druke argued. 'In a Yale poll just out late week, AOC has the highest net favorability rating of any of the Democrats that they asked about.'

Ocasio-Cortez had a 62 percent positive rating among Democrats in the survey, with former Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, trailing her slightly.

However, an earlier poll, conducted back in March, showed the failed presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, as the likely 2028 frontrunner.

In a political twist few would have predicted in the aftermath of 2024, Harris - was for a short time - leading the early 2028 Democratic primary field by a staggering 26-point margin, according to the Morning Consult poll.

The Morning Cosult poll also noted the Former United States Secretary of Transportation as the likely second.