More young people, particularly those who identify as Democrats, say they plan to vote in the 2020 presidential caucuses and primaries than did four years ago, according to a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll published Monday.

Forty-three percent of young voters, ages 18 to 29, surveyed said they are likely to participate in the nominating contests, compared to 36% of young voters who indicated that they’d vote in the nominating contests at the same point four years ago.

The new polling data suggests a continuation of a surge in engagement by young voters from November's midterm election. Youth turnout was 31% for the midterms, a 25-year-high that Democrats said helped pave the way for the party's largest gain of House seats since the post-Watergate 1974 elections.

“Building upon the historic impact of the youth vote in the midterm election, we will continue to see this generation step up, take action, and ensure their voices are accounted for in our elections,” predicted Mark Gearan, director of Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Fifty-eight percent of young respondents who identified as Democrats said they are likely to vote in next year’s primary or caucuses, compared to 44% of respondents at the same point in the campaign four years ago.

At least 20 candidates are vying for the Democratic presidential nomination. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., on Monday became the latest to announce his candidacy. And former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce his candidacy later this week. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld has announced he will run for the Republican nomination against President Trump.

Another Dem runs:Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton joins 2020 presidential race

Biden readies launch:Joe Biden expected to launch 2020 presidential campaign

Forty-seven percent of respondents who identified as Republicans said they are likely to vote in the nominating contests, down slightly from 48% in the spring of 2015.

Generation Z voters, who will be 18 to 23 during the 2020 contests, are projected to make up one-in-ten eligible voters, up from 4% in 2016, according to a Pew Research Center study published in January. The group is more racially and ethnically diverse than their predecessors.

Young voters:Early and absentee voting: Youth vote surges in hotly contested races

The issues:2018 midterms: Racial justice motivating factor for young voters of color, poll finds

In 2020, eligible Gen Z voters are expected to be 55% white and 45% nonwhite. By comparison, the Baby Boomer and older electorate is projected to be about 74% white in 2020, according to Pew.

More young voters going to the polls could be helpful to Democrats' hopes of beating Trump. In 2016, nonwhite voters were more likely to back the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, while white voters backed Trump, according to Pew.

The environment is a top issue

Environmental issues are top of the mind for young voters, according to the Harvard poll.

Forty-six percent said they agreed with the statement that government should “do more to curb climate change, even at the expense of economic growth,” while 16% disagreed with the statement. Four years ago, 32% of young voters agreed and 23% disagreed with the statement.

In addition, 34% of young Americans believe that “protecting the environment” should be a top goal of U.S. foreign policy. The environment trails protecting human rights (39%) and preventing the rise of terrorist groups (34%) as foreign policy priorities among youth voters, but is considered more important than preventing the spread of nuclear weapons (29%) and providing humanitarian assistance (19%), the poll found.

Related:More women say climate change means they won't have kids

Interactive guide:Who is running for president in 2020?

The younger electorate is more anxious about the state of the nation than it was four years ago.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said they agreed with the statement that they are “concerned about the moral direction of the country,” while 9% disagreed. At this stage of the 2015 presidential campaign, 52% of young Americans agreed with the statement and 16% disagreed.

“I think there is a sense of shame in our country, something you can really feel on the ground among younger and older voters,” said Richard Sweeney, a Harvard undergraduate student who was part of the team that conducted the poll. “What did surprise me is that when you broke this down by party, this concern is relatively broad based, it cuts across party lines.”

Young respondents also are skeptical of Baby Boomer (ages 55 to 73) elected officials, according to the poll. Sixteen percent said that they agreed that the older generation’s politicians “care about people like me,” while 41% disagreed.

Asked specifically about Trump, 22% of the respondents said they agreed the president cared about people like them, while 54% disagreed.

“I think we are beginning to see a generational conflict between younger voters and Baby Boomers brewing,” said John Della Volpe, the Institute of Politics polling director.

The poll was conducted online between March 8 and March 20 and surveyed 3,022 respondents. The margin of error was +/- 2.64 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.