For years, many people assumed that high school and college students tended to be more left-wing and progressive.
But that’s not always the case.
And this surprising new data about high school boys should give conservatives hope for the future.
12th grade boys are more conservative today
When it comes to politics, young people have always been thought of as being leftists. However, a new survey is finding out this is not always the case.
A chart recently surfaced showing that 12th grade boys are actually overwhelmingly conservative.
According to a highly respected federal survey, American boys in their last year of high school are almost twice as likely to identify as conservative.
The survey, which was conducted over the last three years, found that approximately one-quarter of high school seniors identified as conservative or “very conservative.”
It was administered by the Monitoring the Future survey, which has been tracking political viewpoints and other opinions since the 1970s.
By the late 2000s, the number of leftist boys far outnumbered conservatives.
But according to Gallup, it looks like girls are much more left-wing than boys, as the percentage of 12th grade girls identifying as leftists went from 19% in 2012 to 30% in 2022.
The same applies to young women between the ages of 18 to 29, as they are more likely to identify as a leftist in the present day than they were at any other time over the last two decades.
Another survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life found that 43% of young men identified as moderate, 31% as conservative, and 24% as left-wing.
But many high-school-aged boys are hesitant to choose a political side.
The 2022 Monitoring the Future survey found that over two-fifths of senior boys claimed to not follow politics at all, answering with either “none of the above” or “I don’t know.”
According to author and professor of psychology at San Diego State University, Jean Twenge, “among liberals, the future is female. And among conservatives, the future is male.”
Twenge presented a chart showing the differences that went viral on social media platforms like Reddit and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Democrats are losing male support
While this new data doesn’t offer precise numbers of young males leaning conservative, it does provide a good overall snapshot of the future.
One recent POLITICO article exclaimed that Democrats have a “masculinity problem.”
And although the Democrats want to win the hearts, minds, and votes of young men, the agenda doesn’t always fit within their ideals.
Candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump offer strong leadership that is more in line with many young men’s views on issues like gender and sexual orientation.
For now, this surprising new data does offer conservatives comfort by knowing that not all hope for the future is lost.
Patriot Political will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
