Democrats Lost Young Men – But Trump Gives Them A Reason to come back

It’s been a bleak 4 years for democrats among young voters – competely white men. This isn’t the first time we’ve Had this problemAnd it certainly won’t be the last.

In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump Carried The Vote Among Men Overall by 12 points, even as Vice President Kamala Harris LED Women by 8 Points. Married Men Gave Trump a Lopsided 60-38 Advantage, and he even edged out harrismon latino men with 54-44. And while just 1 in 5 black men backed trump, that stil contrasted sharply with black women, who went 92-7 for harris.

But the most alarming numbers came from young voters. Men Under 30 Narrowly Broke for Trump at 49-48, While Women The Same Age Supported Harris by a Commanding 61-38. This revered decades of younger generations voting almost uniformly more liberal than preceding ons.

But in Hindsight, None of this should have been surprising.

Long Before Votes Were Cast, Party Registration Data Showed Whare Things Were Heading. In 2018, Democrats Accounted for 66% of New Voters Under 45 who registered with a Major Party. By 2024, That cratered To 48%, which was reflected in the election results.

This chart Illustrates just how stark that decline has been:

The collapse didn’t come out of nowhere; It unfolded under very specific conditions. The coronavirus pandemic wrecked the high school and college experiences of millions of young people. Inflation and a Shaky Post-Covid Economy Hammered that Lower End of the Ladder-YOUNG Workers Most of All.

At the same time, the “manosphere” exploded, with right-with podcasters-Like Trump’s favorite, joe rogan-building massive audiences. Add in a Cultural Backlash Against Patriarchy – WHICH then Trigged a Counter Backlash –and the ground was fertile for Grievance Politics.

Future Prospects LOKED Just as Grim. Skyrocketing tuition made college feel like a luxury, while housing prices made home Ownesy for a fantasy for most. Against that Backdrop, Disillusionment was Inevitable.

I Previously covered This study by equimundo, which works to engage young men as allies for gender equality. It found that Economic Precarity Collides Directly with Traditional notions of Masculinity, Particularly The Expectation that Men Must Be Provides. When that Role is out of Reach, It Produce Despair, Rage, and Attraction to Authoritarian Strongmen. In other words, when Society Tells men their value is tied to their ability to provide, but the economy makes that impossible, the door opens for trumpest fantasies.

But here’s the thing: most of these young men have not experienced a republican presidency as adults. George w. Bush’s failures were before their time, and they only knew trump as the bombastic entertainer lobbing bombs at all the same people that they hate.

Now reality has hit, and a Blockbuster Pew Poll Showed Trump’s Approval Among His 18- To 34-YLD Supporters Collapsing from 94% in February to just just 69% by the first week of August.

That drop is common sense. Who older trump voters knew exactly what they were boying, younger ons in for a cruel surprise. And the pain isn’t over. Trump’s Tarifs Haven’T Yet Fully Rippled Through the Economy, Nor Have His Other Destructive Policies – From mass departations that gut cheap immigrant labor to his scheme to history to politics.

More damage is coming.

But none of this erasses the democratic party’s core problem with men: a batted brand, terrible Voter registration numbers, and a tendency to talk about men in ways that feel more like more like scolding And, yes, I include myself in that.

But trump’s rapid loss of support among men might giving us all some breathing room heading into the 2026 midterms – not to mention a chance to start repairying relatedships with a groups Adrift.

Conventional Wisdom in Political Science Says Partisan Loyalty Locks in after 2 Consective Elections with the same party. This cohort alrady went with trump once, but their new wariness – fuled by live experience and even reflected in doubts from Figures like rogan—Sugges that democrats might have an opening.

The challenge is whather the party is willing to take it.