Less than 80 days out from the election, America has to answer: What should the future look like? For the generation of young adults that are poised to inherit this nation, what is their dream for this country? Is Kamala Harris an answer to this dream? Is Donald Trump?

With Harris taking the reins as the presumptive Democratic party nominee for president, it’s clear the urge to vote is coming back for thousands of young Americans.

According to data from Vote.org, in the 48 hours following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of his 2024 bid for the presidency, 38,500 new voters registered themselves for the upcoming election. Of these new voters, 83% were ages 18-34.

In a more recent survey released on August 12, Harris leads Trump by 9 points, 51% to 42%, among registered voters 18-29 in battleground states. SocialSurvey pollsters noted this is a 13-point shift to Harris from July, when Trump led among this group 48% to 44%. Young people are now choosing Harris over Trump by as many as 24 points in some polls.

Why are young voters jumping to Harris? It has some to do with her age compared to Biden and Trump. She is 59, while Biden is 81 and Trump is 78. But there’s more to it.

The prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch proved to many young voters that, after four long years, nothing changes. Trump was still Trump, Biden was still Biden.

But Harris is neither.

On July 22, Harris spoke to supporters at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., jumpstarting her campaign. In her speech, she positioned herself as the future, and her opponent as the past.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards, to a time before many of our fellow Americans had full freedoms and rights. But we believe in a brighter future that makes room for all Americans.”

That emphasis on the future is resonating with young voters.

Her biracial, Black and Asian American heritage also is a draw for a generation that is much more diverse than Trump’s generation. The generation of baby boomers, ages 60-78, identify as 72% white, while 48% of Gen Z voters, ages 12-27, identify as a person of color, according to numbers compiled by Democratic Party strategist Celinda Lake.

But Harris also aligns more closely with many of the values of younger voters. They are looking for an American Dream for all.

A poll conducted recently by American University and the Sine Institute of Policy & Politics of more than 1,500 young people ages 18-34 aimed to answer a fundamental question for young voters: What does the American Dream look like for them? The poll asked its young adults: What do you want from your government? What matters to you? What goals do you have for the future?

The majority of young Americans said that achieving a “Happy and Fulfilled” life, having “Freedom of Life Decisions,” and “Financial Success,” were at the top of their list. Notably, Hispanics and Blacks also listed that “Owning a Home” was one of the top elements needed to achieve the American Dream.

In the same section of the survey, respondents stated that “Decisions/policies of elected officials’’ was a very important factor for 41% of them. A distinction here was clear, however. The survey notes that 41% of White respondents found the issue very important, while 50% of Blacks and Hispanics said the issue was very important, 9% higher than White respondents. Furthermore, 48% of affiliated Democrats listed the issue as very important, and only 36% of Republicans.

The issues that are important to younger Americans are important to all Americans. But as far as 2024, the following are essential to 18- to 34-year-olds:

• 25% said health care.

• 24% said the economy, including the cost of living.

• 24% said affordable housing.

• 23% said reproductive rights, including abortion.

• 21% said issues related to the workforce, including job training and protections for workers.

One section of the poll targeted the question: What are the three most important issues when you think about your votes?

Each of these topics can be centralized as one theme: progress.

The study showed that the single biggest obstacle for young Americans in achieving the American Dream is their political system, including the way we choose our elected officials.

Frustration with a two-party system was also a key finding. The poll, taken before Biden’s departure from the race, showed an astonishing 53% of young Americans were fairly or very likely to vote for a third-party candidate in the 2024 election.

So young voters wanted a change, and they got it — but from the Democratic Party.

This new generation has answered what issues matter to them in the American University survey, so do they matter to the new candidate?

Harris declared in Delaware that in this country we need “paid family leave, and affordable child care”. And health care is at the top of the list for issues that are important for young Americans.

She insisted that each person has the right to “buy a home, start a family, and build their personal wealth.” The economy and the cost of housing are No. 2 and No. 3 on the list for young voters.

She has said this election “is a fight for freedom — the fundamental freedom to make decisions about one’s own body and not have their government tell them what they’re supposed to do” — Reproductive rights are No. 4 on the list.

She said that building up the middle class would be her “defining goal” and that “every worker is paid fairly, and that every senior can retire with dignity” — No. 5 on the list.

Above all, she has declared repeatedly she is not going back. “We believe in a brighter future, that makes room for all Americans,” she said in Delaware.

In the poll about a new American Dream, the majority of young voters responded that “My own hard work and effort” was of the utmost importance, with 62% stating it was very important. The attitude represents a desire to work hard. It proves an understanding that their own agency will be required to achieve the American Dream. They are ready to fight for it.

That sentiment is being echoed by Harris’ message that a new generation is ready to take over, and is willing to work hard at making politics better.

As she said in Delaware, “The baton is in our hands.”