About 7 in 10 voters under 30 supported the Democratic candidate in their U.S. House race in the Nov. 3 midterms, the AP Voter Poll found. About 3 in 10 backed the Republican. In 2024, the youngest voters were roughly split between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Related: Deep-Red Upsets: How Democrats Won Senate Seats.
The numbers, side by side
A separate analysis by Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, put the split at 66% Democratic and 31% Republican among voters 18 to 29, The National News Desk reported.
CIRCLE said Democrats’ House advantage among young voters rose from 14 points in 2024 to 35 points this year. Youth turnout was the second-highest for a midterm in 30 years, trailing only 2018, the analysis found.
Young voters shifted toward Democrats in each Senate seat the party flipped: Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina, the AP Voter Poll found. The electorate’s age limited the effect, as only about 1 in 10 voters were under 30.
What drove the shift
About half of young voters said they were “angry” about the way things were going, compared with about one-third of voters 65 and older, the AP Voter Poll found.
About 6 in 10 voters under 30 said one reason for their House vote was opposition to Trump. About half of voters 30 to 44 said the same, as did about 4 in 10 voters 45 and older.
More than half of voters 18 to 29 named the economy and jobs as the top issue, The National News Desk reported. Health care and the war with Iran followed.
Young men backed Democratic House candidates at 59%, CIRCLE found, after 56% supported Trump in 2024. White youth backed Democrats at 61%, after 54% supported Trump two years ago.
Whether the shift lasts
Voters under 30 were the age group least likely to identify with either party, The National News Desk reported. Gallup found 54% of millennials and 56% of Generation Z identified as independent, the outlet reported.
“It’s not as if these youth have moved over to be Democrats again,” said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University.
A Harvard Institute of Politics youth poll released before the midterms found low approval for both parties in Congress. Congressional Democrats stood at 26% and Republicans at 25%. Just 15% of young Americans trusted the government to do the right thing all or most of the time.
More coverage is in our politics section.
Sources
- The Associated Press via NBC DFW: Young voters led a sharp shift toward Democrats in the 2026 midterms, the AP Voter Poll finds
- The National News Desk via WJLA: Young voters help deliver Democratic wave, but their support may be fleeting
- Harvard Institute of Politics: New poll: Just 13% of youth feel America is headed in the right direction
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