Two young first-time voters share their priorities ahead of the historic presidential election

Age used to be one of the biggest predictive factors in whether a person would actually vote in any given U.S. election. However, the participation of younger voters rose in 2020 by more than 10 percent compared with the 2016 election. It’s unclear if that trend will continue.

We’re joined by two members of Gen Z who say they have been looking forward to voting for years. GiGi Whisler is sophomore at Pacific University in Forest Grove, who describes herself as liberal. Heidi Taylor is from Phoenix, Oregon and is a sophomore at Brigham Young University-Rexburg, in Idaho. They both join us to discuss how they’re feeling about voting for the first time and what issues are most important to them as they decide on candidates and measures.

Note: The following transcript was transcribed digitally and validated for accuracy, readability and formatting by an OPB volunteer.

Dave Miller: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Dave Miller. We start today with two young people who are about to vote for president for the very first time in their lives. GiGi Whisler is 19 years old, she describes herself as liberal. She grew up in Portland and is now a sophomore at Pacific University in Forest Grove. Heidi Taylor from Phoenix, Oregon is 20 years old. She is a sophomore at Brigham Young University-Rexburg in Idaho, and describes herself as conservative. They both join me now. GiGi and Heidi, welcome.

GiGi Whisler / Heidi Taylor: Thank you.

Miller: GiGi, first. What does it mean to you, to be able to vote for president for the very first time in your life?

Whisler: It’s so exciting to finally be a part of that. I’ve watched every presidential election since I was old enough to think. And I’m so excited to be able to be a part of the social contract of America, and have my voice actually matter in this election. I think this election is a huge one, because I’m voting for a woman for the first time, and a public educator, too, which is huge for me.

Miller: We’ll get into how you have both made your decisions. But simply, Heidi, what does it mean to you that you can vote now for president?

Taylor: I mean, it’s just exciting that you have the opportunity to share my opinion, and I just think the presidential elections are exciting and fun. It’s fun to watch everything, and it’ll be fun to actually vote this time, and have an opinion that I can share.

Miller: Heidi, we’re having a little bit of a hard time hearing you. I’m not sure if you’re talking right into your microphone, but if not, please try to, because it’s a little bit muddy at times. But sticking with you – who will you be supporting in this election?

Taylor: I’m probably going to vote for Trump, but I was also looking at the voters’ pamphlet, and I also think that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. would be a good candidate. So probably one of those two.

Miller: I should say, RFK Jr., his name may be in the voters pamphlet, but he is no longer running. So, does that then put you definitively in the Trump camp?

Taylor: I guess so. Yeah.

Miller: And GiGi, you mentioned that you’re excited to vote for a woman … Kamala Harris is your candidate.

Whisler:  Yes.

Miller: Why?

Whisler: I support so many of her policies. And even the things we disagree on, I think that she’s making these decisions with her most educated ability to do so. She supports so many of the things that I support. She wants to make this a country where women, and People of Color, and people who identify as gay are able to actually live and not be in fear all the time, which is a huge thing for me.

Miller: And Heidi, I’m curious – what issue is most important to you?

Taylor: I don’t think I have very many specific issues, but I guess the one that I’m thinking about the most this election is just making the economy better and making prices go down again to what they were before all the inflation happened and everything … or just making things cheaper, and it being less expensive to live.

Miller: And it’s your hope that Donald Trump will do that more than Kamala Harris?

Taylor: Yes.

Miller: Heidi, how much do you think either candidate is paying attention to your generational concerns, your concerns as a younger member of Gen Z?

Taylor:  I think both of them, actually. I’ve noticed they’re both focusing on getting younger voters this election season. So I think that they’re both concerned and aware of the issues that younger voters care about.

Miller: GiGi, do you agree?

Whisler: I don’t think I would agree. I think Kamala Harris has made a lot more of an effort to appeal to younger voters, with her whole “Kamala is Brat,” campaign alone. That was just a noticeable use of current events and current pop culture to appeal to younger voters. Her use of TikTok has actually been really impressive, and I think she has people on her campaign that are working really hard to appeal to the Gen Z demographic, which is really important right now.

Miller: And arguably that’s the form of messaging – the “Brat campaign,” or various social media platforms. What about in terms of policies?

Whisler: Absolutely, I’ve noticed she’s focused a little bit more on climate change recently, which is something that is a talking point that I’ve noticed is really important for my peers, and I would say is important for me too. Also, reproductive justice is another one that she’s been focusing a lot on. And that is one of the top issues I’ve noticed among my peers.

Miller: I’m curious, Donald Trump, he broke countless norms as a presidential candidate eight years ago, and then as president. It’s something that his supporters often liked him for, loved him for, and his detractors reviled him for. But you were both 11 or 12 years old when he became president.

GiGi, first – how much did he define the presidency for you, define just what it meant to be an American president, as opposed to changing your understanding of what it meant to be a president?

Whisler: I think I just saw it more as an example of how I don’t want a president to be in the country that I live in.

Miller: And you felt that when you were 12?

Whisler: Yes. Fully. I paid attention to President Obama before then. So I had seen an example of what I thought was more of a respectable way to be the president. And then I could also see, even though I was 11 or 12, the very noticeable shift in behavior, and policy, and actions made.

Miller: Heidi, what about you? I’m curious, what were your early memories of Donald Trump were?

Taylor: Honestly, I just remember when he was elected that everyone thought that it was going to be the downhill of America, and then it wasn’t – everything was pretty much the same. And I mean, I wasn’t an adult at that time, so maybe things did change so I didn’t notice. But to me, I just remember things were the same. So, yeah.

Miller:  Heidi, sticking with you, where do you turn for political information or political news that you trust?

Taylor: I like to watch videos on YouTube. That’s where I usually get my political news. I like to follow The Daily Wire closely.

Miller: Do you pay attention to where the videos that are on YouTube come from, where they are originally from?

Taylor: Yes.

Miller: I’m just curious, which sources you find that you trust the most, and where you get the most information?

Taylor: I mean, usually they’ll just play clips of the debates or their interviews with people, and then they just commentate on it. So they get it right from the interview and debate sources.

Miller: GiGi, what about you? Who do you turn to for political news or information? Who do you trust?

Whisler: I don’t think I have a consistent organization that I would look to. I read from all sorts of places, from CNN, to – I’ve read something on OPB this morning, actually. And I look everywhere, and then synthesize that information into what I can get from the actual information, and then my own thoughts. And then I’m part of the Oregon Education Association. And so a lot of the information I get is actually from fellow educators and union members.

Miller: That’s the statewide teachers union?

Whisler: Mhm.

Miller: GiGi, how much do your fellow students talk about the presidential election, in particular, these days?

Whisler: We talk often, and I very much understand that that could be because I surround myself with like people, and that’s something that I care about. But we talk often. I think my school has done a great job this election season as making that part of campus life. We had a voting party, where we went and we got registered to vote, if you hadn’t already. And there were stickers and talking about what issues. And I’ve gone to freshman classrooms and talked about registering to vote and what being a voter means. So, we talk about it a lot.

Miller: Meaning, you’re trying to get your younger fellow students to register, if they’re not yet registered?

Whisler: Yes.

Miller: Heidi, what about you? How much has the presidential election itself been a topic of conversation among your fellow students?

Taylor: I think we actually don’t talk about it that much. I go to a religious school, so we mostly focus on church and religious aspects, I guess. But it is in our weekly newsletters, they’re promoting people to register to vote. But among my friends, I’m usually the one that brings it up. Other people don’t seem so inclined to bring it up.

Miller: Heidi, we’ve talked largely about the presidential election, but that’s obviously just one race on the ballot. How much attention have you been paying to other races on the ballot?

Taylor: I haven’t been paying too much attention, but I was looking through the OPB stuff that I was sent, to see what the local elections are about. So I’ve been looking at a few of them.

Miller:  GiGi, what about you? I mean, the Secretary of State, Attorney General, or statewide races … your local congressional seat, other local races. How much have you been following down ballot elections?

Whisler:  I’ve been following a lot of them closely. Representative Neron is a big one. She is the head of an education committee in the House, and she was a big supporter of the Student Success Act. So I’ve been following that race. And then Janelle Bynum – that’s a huge important race for me. I’ve done phone-banking, and text-banking, and canvassing for some of these races. And then I’ve also been paying close attention to a lot of the measures, because I think there’s a lot of really interesting and important ones out there right now.

Miller: You’re both in college, which is a time and a place to really start to separate more from one’s parents. GiGi, first – how different would you say your political beliefs are at this point, from your families?

Whisler: I wouldn’t say they differ that much. We’ve had disagreements a few times on maybe a specific measure, but usually we’re similarly inclined. My parents are registered Democrats. I’m a registered Democrat.

Miller: And Heidi, what about you? How much similarity is there at this point, between your political beliefs and those of your parents?

Taylor: I think that they’re similar, probably, just because we all believe in the same things and the same values. So they’re probably the same. But I don’t know what or who my parents are voting for, or what measures they’re going to vote for. But I think we usually stick with the same values.

Miller: Heidi Taylor and GiGi Whisler, thanks very much.

Whisler / Taylor:  Thank you.

Miller: Heidi Taylor is a 20-year-old sophomore at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg. GiGi Whisler is a 19-year-old sophomore at Pacific University. She identifies as a liberal; Heidi as a conservative. This is going to be their first presidential election as voters.

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