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

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 percent of men ages 18 to 29 voted for Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidates, compared with 37 percent 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 percent to 42 percent. 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 gett