The fight for young men intensifies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections

Winning the hearts and minds of young men has been at the center of politics over the past year. Republicans sought to cement President Donald Trump’s gains, while Democrats, fearing they could lose an increasingly disaffected segment of the electorate for a generation, launched a series of initiatives to prevent that. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, D-N.Y., greets voters in New York City on June 24.Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, D-N.Y., greets voters in the South Bronx of New York City on June 24.Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images Ahead of next year’s midterms, some Democrats say the momentum is shifting. High-profile Democrats running in last month’s elections - Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Zohran Mamdani in New York City - improved on the party’s poor performance among young men one year before. Some 2028 Democratic presidential contenders launched policy initiatives aimed at men and boys. And in Trump’s first year in office, many young men say they feel a continued economic and social malaise , cutting into his support with that key group. “I never want to hear again that the Democratic Party has a problem with young men,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told reporters after the November elections. While some Democrats are taking an early victory lap, members of both parties say the fight is far from over. “There’s some bed-wetting going on amongst some folks who are like, ‘Well, Trump’s numbers have slipped with all these groups that he won big with last year,’” said a senior Republican strategist, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the matter. “That’s just shortsighted. ... The Republican ecosystem is just a little bit stronger in this space.” In addition, multiple Democrats said that while they’ve been encouraged by the progress the party has made, there remains a level of discomfort among some party leaders in speaking to those issues. At last month’s Symposium on Young American Men, a conference put on by The Lafayette Company, a conservative communications firm, to discuss crises facing the demographic, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said some in the party still have a fear of being “canceled” for homing in on the subject. “It’s OK to reach out to men,” Gallego said. “Talk to men. Talk about men being men.” Republicans, meanwhile, plan to hammer Democrats ahead of the midterms as out of touch with the concerns of young men while projecting improved economic standing for them in the new year, pointing to tax provisions in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” including some about tipped wages. The senior Republican strategist said the midterms will be decided by voters’ attitudes on Trump and the economy, predicting sentiment will improve as Trump’s agenda fully sets in. “There’s a lot of folks who feel that they are not where they should be, they’re falling behind,” this person said. “There’s a general unsettlement. Young men are especially there when you look at job prospects, AI, there’s uncertainty...

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