None of this is to claim that younger voters in general are not more to the left on most issues than their older counterparts. They are. But there is a difference between being more progressive than other voters — and progressive as a blanket characterization. As this data clearly shows, that characterization is not accurate and might explain how these voters could become politically untethered from their relative liberalism as they are pressed by economic trends and the swirl of current events.

Will young voters’ liberal but nuanced views on issues lead them to stick with the Democrats, as they have during the past few cycles? Or will they start to break from the party this year and embrace alternatives?