Just a few months ago, it seemed that young men in the US were shifting right politically, but this month's elections have told a different story. Democrats have successfully won back many of these voters by focusing on affordability and cost-of-living issues.
Young men face a political identity crisis, with two decades of war, a turbulent economy, and a changing workforce leaving many disaffected. An ecosystem of hucksters has emerged to exploit this, peddling dark visions of violence and control. Meanwhile, Democrats had failed to imagine a political future that included these young men.
However, the marquee campaigns in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City this year were remarkably similar in their relentless focus on affordability. They addressed how expensive and difficult life has become for working- and middle-class people, giving young men something constructive to do about their frustrations rather than ceding them to cynical actors.
In Virginia and New Jersey, men under 30 broke for Democratic governors, with about six in 10 supporting Spanberger, according to the AP. In New York, young men went for Zohran Mamdani over Andrew Cuomo by a margin of nearly 40 points, according to a Tufts Circle analysis.
Republicans got distracted defending Trump and engaging in culture wars, while Democrats learned that a focus on economic pressures can bring young men back into the fold. The political miracle is that these young men are not completely lost to the left.
