Battle for young male voters intensifies after US midterm rebuke of Republicans

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Nov 15 - Barely a week after the midterm elections, Democrats are debating how to turn newfound support among young men into a lasting coalition, while Republicans are trying to…

Nov 15 - Barely a week after the midterm elections, Democrats are debating how to turn newfound support among young men into a lasting coalition, while Republicans are trying to understand why the group abandoned them so decisively.

An estimated 59% of men ages 18 to 29 voted for Democratic US House of Representatives candidates, compared with 37% for Republicans, according to Tufts University's Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. That marked a sharp reversal from 2024, when AP VoteCast found young men backing President Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by 14 points, 56% to 42%.

That rapid shift has made young men one of the most influential and unpredictable voting blocs in American politics, with both parties viewing them as critical to winning the White House in 2028.

Democratic Party operatives are wasting no time looking for ways to sustain their gains. At a conference on the party's future in Denver last week, one session examined strategy for winning over younger voters, under the title: "What we are still getting wrong about Gen Z."

Republicans have yet to conduct a formal postmortem, but party strategists and activists are already calling for an end to the unpopular war in Iran and measures to bring down the cost of living, according to interviews with five party officials and strategists.

"No party owns them," said John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, arguing Democrats could keep some, if not all, of their gains if they deliver tangible policy results. "It will clearly swing."

Economic anxiety was a major factor in young voters' shift toward Democrats, but foreign policy also played a role, according to the Tufts post-election survey that found young men were more likely than young women to cite the war in Iran as an important issue heading into Election Day.

Trump's decision to strike Iran not only drove up gasoline prices but also broke a 2024 campaign pledge…

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