Men under 30 led the party change in favor of the Democrats in the midterms

Voters of all races and ages contributed to the overwhelming victory of the Democratic Party in the midterm elections, in which they gained control of both legislative chambers, many of whom had voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections. Of them, it was the youngest who made the greatest shift to the left. 70% of voters under 30 years of age opted for the Democratic Party, while only 28% preferred to give their vote to Republican candidates. The party change was 30 percentage points compared to two years ago, according to preliminary data collected by The New York Times.

The turnaround was more spectacular because in the elections just two years ago, young people had moved towards the conservative party by about 23 points, one of the factors that facilitated Trump's return to the White House. Among men in that age group the change was even greater, almost 40 percentage points. Women between 18 and 29 years old also voted mostly in favor of the Democrats (77%), but the difference compared to 2024 was smaller because their support had already been higher in the last presidential elections.

Two years ago, younger voters were more or less evenly divided between Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. In these midterms, about seven in 10 voters in that same age group nationally said they had supported the Blue Party candidate for the House of Representatives in their area, according to the AP poll.

The interpretation that Republican candidates suffered the consequences of Trump's low popularity was evident among younger voters. About six in 10 voters under the age of 30 said one of the reasons they voted for the House of Representatives was expressing their opposition to Trump; a figure that, by comparison, was about half among voters ages 30 to 44, and about four in 10 among voters ages 45 and older. Likewise, around half of young voters said they felt “angry” about the direction the country is taking, compared to only a third of voters aged 65 or older.

Young people's support for Democrats was evident among Latinos, the ethnic group that registered the largest shift in the vote towards progressives. The vote variation among young Hispanics who had voted for Trump in 2024 and who favored the Democrats in these midterms exceeded 40 percentage points. 79% of them preferred to vote for the Democrats. The trend of this segment of the population is very relevant because Latinos lead the growth of the electorate. While the number of white voters decreases, more than four million Latinos obtained the right to vote after turning 18 since the last election.

“Young Latinos—the so-called ‘No Sabo’ kids—have become the ‘Yes Vote’ generation, mobilizing their families and voting early,” said Yadira Sánchez, executive director of the organization Poder Latinx, dedicated to defending Hispanic youth, at a press conference on Wednesday.

Among young white people who do not define themselves by any ethnicity, there has also been a substantial change of party. In 2020, Democrat Joseph Biden won the majority of their votes; However, in 2024, they leaned Republican. This year, Democrats have regained a considerable advantage among this group, exceeding the levels of support they received from them in 2020. 60% have given their vote to the blue party, compared to 38% who preferred the Republicans. The change of sides has exceeded 30 percentage points.