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

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Young male US voters reshape midterm politics as Democrats gain support and Republicans seek to win them back in 2028. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Students queueing to vote at the University of Texas, during the US midterm elections on Nov 3.

WASHINGTON - 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 Centre 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 post-mortem, 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 towards 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.

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