Happy Thursday! In today’s newsletter, we cover the gender divide among Gen Z voters, chronic absenteeism in K–12 schools, and the risk to American innovation.

Edited by Sutton Houser and James Desio

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Topline: Young voters overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama in 2008, but Vice President Kamala Harris faces a tough challenge due to a growing gender divide among members of Gen Z. AEI’s Daniel Cox finds that young men have shifted to the right, while young women have moved left.

The Strategy: Cox notes that both presidential campaigns are leaning into the growing gender divide. The Trump campaign is promoting Donald Trump as a strong leader to appeal to young men, while the Harris campaign is focusing on issues like abortion that resonate with young women.

Topline: As the new school year begins, AEI’s Nat Malkus reports that chronic absenteeism among K–12 students remains high in many states. In the eight states that released data for the 2023–24 school year, absenteeism rates are improving but still elevated.

• New Mexico saw the largest improvement, reducing chronic absenteeism from 40% in 2023 to 33% in 2024.

Big Picture: Chronic absenteeism among K–12 students increased from 15% in 2019 to 26% in 2023. While rates are declining in some states, Malkus finds that chronic absenteeism remains a major problem that warrants quick action from states.

Topline: AEI’s Derek Scissors argues partial decoupling from China would benefit American companies by boosting competition and innovation. While US tech firms claim they rely on Chinese revenue to fund research and development (R&D), Scissors points out that business R&D declined for years after China joined the World Trade Organization—likely due to coercive IP practices.

More Competition: Scissors explains that business R&D grew fastest during periods of strong global competition, such as the late 1950s, early 1980s, and late 2010s. Partial decoupling would enable innovative companies to thrive and empower US leadership in vital industries.