2024 election: Young Texans identify issues motivating them to vote

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The two main candidates running for the White House will debate Tuesday night, as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are set to answer questions about some of the most pressing issues facing the country. Two young, first-time voters plan to listen closely to hear how they approach certain topics that research has shown is top of mind for Texans.

Brandon Gibson, a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, said he'll watch the debate Tuesday night alongside other members of the on-campus nonpartisan group TX Votes, which is currently working to get more of his classmates to participate in the election. The environmental engineering major said he hopes both Harris and Trump address something affecting his life: the cost of housing.

"I've looked at off-campus housing just for trying to get an apartment in Austin. It's crazy high trying to find somewhere off campus," Gibson said Monday. "You have to go 20-30 minutes out to try to find something reasonable."

While polling shows affordability remains a problem across the state, recent surveys have other issues topping the list of concerns with Texas voters that are more likely to come up Tuesday during the debate. For instance the candidates' messaging could reflect what voters told pollsters from the Texas Politics Project last month. They said inflation, the economy, immigration and corruption are the biggest problems facing the country.

Gibson also mentioned abortion access as a major motivator — along with climate change and infrastructure. Emerson College and The Hill found Texas voters also put abortion high on their list of most important issues. That particularly resonates with Minami Krembs, a UT sophomore majoring in economics who will vote for president for the first time.

"I really disagree with the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs," Krembs said, "and I would really like just women across the country to have the right to decide for themselves whether to have children, like when and how they want to have children."

She said another issue that's really important to her this election cycle is immigration. Twenty-nine percent of Texas voters agreed with her, according to polling from Emerson College and The Hill. That's what topped the list of most important issues followed by the economy (25%), abortion access (12%) and threats to democracy (10%).

Both students also said they're working with different organizations on campus to register more young voters in Austin.

"It's really rewarding knowing that people, especially young people, are actually wanting to be engaged in civics," Gibson said.

"Make a plan to vote right now so that you don't have to worry about it, as it gets closer to the election," Krembs added. "Get it done, so you don't have to worry about it."

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7. People can check their registration information on the Texas Secretary of State's website.