Amidst wars, both tariff-focused and full-blown, a new level of political divisiveness, and high stakes this election season, it is interesting to consider what may be on the minds of first-time voters when they head to the ballot box in November.
There are an array of issues on the minds of many young people in the United States, especially high schooler seniors that are both starting the next chapters of their lives and finally reaching voter age. This comes just in time for an election considered critical for the direction of the nation, with the two largest parties in the nation having a lot on the line.
Affordability is a frequent discussion for many future and current voters. After all, most of the recent, high-profile elections were decided by a candidate’s commitment to making the everyday citizen’s life more affordable. Zohran Mamdani, who was at the time a little-known State Assemblyman from Queens, became mayor of New York City this January with a campaign focused on bringing down the cost of living in the United States’ most expensive city. On the other side of the political spectrum, President Trump won a second term with a campaign that looked to capture working class people with promises of a more affordable country. For Laguna Beach High School seniors, a survey found affordability in 50% of student’s “top three issues”.
The ongoing war in Iran also appeared to impact some student’s hopes for midterm candidates, with some including “No War” in their top policy hopes for a candidate, and some also saying “Yes to War”. This issue is not exactly partisan in 2026, with congressmembers on both sides of the aisle voicing either their support or dissent for the military operations in Iran. However, it will be on the minds of many when voting for positions in Congress as the legislature continues to hold votes on if the United States should withdraw from their Iranian campaign.
The environmental impact of politics also took hold, with some responses on top issues including “no to off-shore drilling” and “more national parks and wildfire preservation”. In terms of California, the state is looking to create more protected state parks. Candidates for governor have also campaigned on more extensive regulation on the oil industry within the state as well as promotion of electric vehicles and gains towards more renewable energy.
What emerges from these responses is a portrait of a generation that is, perhaps surprisingly, paying close attention. The issues Laguna Beach seniors flagged – the cost of getting started in life, the weight of a war being fought in their name, the world they will inherit – are not abstract political talking points. They are immediate. And yet these priorities sit at an awkward distance from the loudest conversations in national politics, where culture war flashpoints and partisan maneuvering tend to drown out the bread-and-butter concerns that actually moved voters like Mamdani and Trump to victory.
The question hanging over November is not whether this generation has opinions. Clearly, they do. It is whether those opinions will make it to the ballot box – and whether, once there, they will find candidates actually listening.
