Latest news with #Catalist
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bro voters say they have abandoned Democrats as party ignores their issues and muddles meaning of being a ‘man'
American men are turning away from the Democratic party because they believe their issues are being ignored while also being in a 'no-win' situation about the meaning of modern masculinity, new research has found. Hot-button topics, such as economic anxiety in combination with uncertainty over cultural issues, have led to a crisis among male voters, according to a study carried out by the SAM project (Speaking with American Men). It was previously reported that Democrats have spent $20 million on the project, with donors and strategists being holed up in luxury hotel rooms brainstorming how to convince working-class men to return to the party. The SAM project aims to 'study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.' Preliminary results, shared with Politico, show that 'Democrats are seen as weak, whereas Republicans are seen as strong,' according to Ilyse Hogue, co-founder of the SAM project. 'Young men also spoke of being invisible to the Democratic coalition, and so you've got this weak problem and then you've got this, 'I don't think they care about me' problem, and I think the combination is kind of a killer.' The survey, which included 23 percent self-described Democrats, 28 percent Republicans and 36 percent independents, also found that the conflicting cultural definitions of masculinity put men in a 'no-win situation around the meaning of 'a man'.' One respondent described Democrats as embracing 'the fluid masculinity of being, like, empathetic and sensitive,' while 'Republicans are more like, the traditional masculinity of a provider, strong, and the machismo type.' In addition, the combination with general concerns over the economy, which proved to be a successful campaigning point for Donald Trump during the election, made 'traditional milestones', including buying a house and having children, 'feel impossible.' This combination of concerns may be contributing to the decline in male support for the party, with SAM's national survey finding that just 27 percent of young men view the Democratic Party positively. The promotion of Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate may also have had some bearing, the project's findings suggested. Democratic firm Catalist found that in 2024, the gender gap between men and women voting for the Democrats was 13 points, after men's support dropped by 6 points to 42 percent – the lowest on record in recent elections. One Latino man from Las Vegas, quoted in SAM's findings, said that during the 2024 campaign, Harris focused on, 'Oh, I got Beyonce on stage with me. Oh, I got Lady Gaga on stage.' 'It just kind of felt like, what does that have to do with me? I'm trying to move up in life,' he said. However, pollster John Della Volpe, another co-founder of the project, says that the current male cohort and younger generation is not 'lost' – though he added that the Democrats are 'losing it' right now.' A previously reported part of SAM's plan for the Democrats included buying advertisements in video games, online streaming platforms, and podcasts. Influencers, including Joe Rogan and Theo Von, were credited with wooing a large proportion of the male voters. 'Democrats can't win these folks over if they're not speaking the language that young men are speaking,' Hogue told Politico. 'Most people I talked to, Democratic operatives, have never heard of Red Pill Fitness, which is just huge online.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tim Walz: Trump ‘understands belonging'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) argued in a recent podcast appearance that part of President Trump's strength lies in his ability to foster a sense of community, especially among young men. The comments from Walz, who ran unsuccessfully as former Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 presidential election, came during an appearance on the 'Grounded' podcast hosted by former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and journalist Martisa Georgiou. Asked by Georgiou about the GOP's efforts to reach high school students, Walz noted that Trump has excelled in reaching Americans who might feel disconnected from each other in an increasingly fragmented society. 'Social media and other things have disconnected people more than they were,' Walz said in the episode posted Thursday. 'We were more connected in my generation. It was easier to be a kid when I was growing up. And I've always said this as a teacher: If you don't give a kid a place to belong, they'll go find one.' 'I think Donald Trump understands belonging, understands groups,' he added. 'I mean, look at it. He gives them a uniform, the red hat. He gives them some chance….It's not all that different from when we build sports teams in high schools.' Walz referenced his 18-year-old son Gus, who floated to him some of the reasons young people have supported Trump. 'I'm proud to say, it looks like as of next Tuesday I'm going to have a high school graduate with my son Gus,' Walz said on the podcast. 'And he's pretty in tune to this…He said, 'Dad, a lot of these young guys…they're not voting on the policy issues…They're doing it because there's a sense of excitement, a sense of thrill in this. It's entertainment or whatever.'' The governor's comments come as Democrats have grappled with how to reverse their losses with key demographics ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections. One of the most notable groups the party has struggled with in recent years is young men. A report released in May from the Democratic firm Catalist found a 9-point drop in support for Democrats among men aged 18 to 29 between 2020 and 2024. Walz's appearance also comes amid mounting speculation that he's eyeing a White House bid in 2028. Over the weekend, he delivered an address to Democrats in South Carolina, their first-in-the-nation primary state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Tim Walz: Trump ‘understands belonging'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) argued in a recent podcast appearance that part of President Trump's strength lies in his ability to foster a sense of community, especially among young men. The comments from Walz, who ran unsuccessfully as former Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate in the 2024 presidential election, came during an appearance on the 'Grounded' podcast hosted by former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and journalist Martisa Georgiou. Asked by Georgiou about the GOP's efforts to reach high school students, Walz noted that Trump has excelled in reaching Americans who might feel disconnected from each other in an increasingly fragmented society. 'Social media and other things have disconnected people more than they were,' Walz said in the episode posted Thursday. 'We were more connected in my generation. It was easier to be a kid when I was growing up. And I've always said this as a teacher: If you don't give a kid a place to belong, they'll go find one.' 'I think Donald Trump understands belonging, understands groups,' he added. 'I mean, look at it. He gives them a uniform, the red hat. He gives them some chance….It's not all that different from when we build sports teams in high schools.' Walz referenced his 18-year-old son Gus, who floated to him some of the reasons young people have supported Trump. 'I'm proud to say, it looks like as of next Tuesday I'm going to have a high school graduate with my son Gus,' Walz said on the podcast. 'And he's pretty in tune to this…He said, 'Dad, a lot of these young guys…they're not voting on the policy issues…They're doing it because there's a sense of excitement, a sense of thrill in this. It's entertainment or whatever.'' The governor's comments come as Democrats have grappled with how to reverse their losses with key demographics ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections. One of the most notable groups the party has struggled with in recent years is young men. A report released in May from the Democratic firm Catalist found a 9-point drop in support for Democrats among men aged 18 to 29 between 2020 and 2024. Walz's appearance also comes amid mounting speculation that he's eyeing a White House bid in 2028. Over the weekend, he delivered an address to Democrats in South Carolina, their first-in-the-nation primary state.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Voter ID, proof of citizenship and attacks on mail voting could backfire on GOP
Are Republicans the new infrequent voters? In a new Catalist study, researchers say yes. Big shifts may be coming in both political campaigning and election laws. Unlike misreported 'horse race' polls during election season, the Catalist study is public opinion polling done right. Catalist collects comprehensive data from a sample featuring a broad cross-section of Americans. This includes panel data, in which the same people are repeatedly interviewed over time to see how their opinions change. Political campaigns and academics both consider the for-profit firm to be a gold standard for well-collected data. The Catalist study found that in 2024, Democratic support increased markedly among frequent voters, that is, voters who regularly participate in elections. Support for Donald Trump surged among infrequent voters, including a growing coalition — particularly of men — that was far more diverse than Trump's traditional base of older, white voters. Frequent voters could also be called 'self sufficient' voters. They do not need much help from campaigns or get out the vote drives, and are less likely to be influenced by either. Frequent voters are more likely to make up their minds on their own, without reference to advertising or candidate appearances and well in advance of the election. They are more likely to be abreast of any changes in election laws, to keep their voter registrations up to date, to go to the right polling place, and to have the right documentation — such as state-issued photo ID — without needing prompts or reminders. In recent decades, Democrats have invested heavily in get-out-the-vote or GOTV efforts, otherwise known as the 'ground game,' particularly in battleground states and districts. These target infrequent voters. In 2024, the Trump campaign countered with more investment of their own in GOTV, and it paid off handsomely. If the Democrats' base is now made up mostly of self-sufficient, unpersuadable voters, both parties' strategies will shift. Democrats will have to target infrequent voters more carefully, in order to avoid accidentally mobilizing more Republicans. Meanwhile, Republicans will increase their investment in the ground game more generally. They face major challenges. This spring, I attended the post-election symposium at the Dole Institute of Politics at KU, where panelists speculated that some voters in battleground states, such as Arizona and Wisconsin, simply voted for Trump and then left the rest of their ballots blank, enabling Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate to win. This behavior is consistent with infrequent voting, and the election results from these states suggest that the Dole panelists were at least partially correct in both. What about election laws? For decades, Republicans have backed new laws that may lower turnout among infrequent voters, including photo ID and proof of citizenship laws, the latter enthusiastically championed by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. Since 2020, Republicans have added crackdowns on dropbox and mail-in voting, such as the new Kansas law eliminating the grace period for mail ballots. What if the voters disenfranchised by these crackdowns are now mostly Republicans? Well before 2024, and despite Democrats' objections, political science research has consistently shown that photo ID laws have little impact on election results. Photo ID requirements may lower voter turnout by an average of about 2%, but those numbers include roughly equal numbers of Democratic and Republican voters. It is well-documented that these laws are unnecessary — there is no widespread election fraud. But with these recent changes, restrictive laws may hurt the Republican vote share. Conspiracy theories notwithstanding, GOP legislators may want to do some serious soul-searching before passing any more voting restrictions. Michael A. Smith is a professor of political science and chair of social sciences at Emporia State University.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The uncomfortable truth about Democrats' problem reaching male voters
Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Democratic donors are considering a $20 million 'strategic plan' called 'Speaking with American Men' that includes 'study(ing) the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality' in male 'spaces.' The initiative is yet another example of Democrats trying to make sense of the 2024 election and, in particular, how they can win back male voters. But polling data from the last four presidential elections suggests the root of their male voter problem — and the potential solution — might be rather straightforward: Support for Democrats among male voters dropped most dramatically when the party's presidential candidate was a woman — and rebounded when the party nominated a man. At the outset, it's important to note that there are significant caveats to this data. Four elections offer useful data, but it's still a relatively small sample size. In addition, it's impossible to say with certainty that the presence of a woman on the Democratic ticket sapped the party's support in presidential elections. Some of the reasoning here is based on circumstantial evidence. Nonetheless, the numbers tell a sobering tale. For example, last week, Catalist, a progressive organization that analyzes voter data, released its report entitled 'What Happened in 2024,' and it's clear that, across the board, Democrats lost ground with men. While women supported Kamala Harris at nearly the same levels that they supported Joe Biden in 2020, the share of men backing the Democratic ticket dropped from 48% in 2020 to 42% in 2024. In all, there was an 11-point shift from Democrats to Republicans. These declines were evident across every major demographic group. For example, white and black women supported Biden and Harris at levels virtually unchanged from 2020, but there was a four-point drop among white men and a seven-point drop among Black men. Support for Democrats among Latino women fell by seven points, but among Latino men, the decline was 12 points. Even more striking is the drop-off with younger voters. According to Catalist, 'the gender gap among 18 to 29 year olds widened to 17 points as women dropped slightly from 66% Democratic support in 2020 to 63% in 2024 while men dropped much further from 55% Democratic support in 2020 to 46% in 2024.' Again, these shifts took place across multiple demographic groups. Democrats lost one point of support with young Black women, but 10 points among young Black men. The party's share of support among young Hispanic women fell by 8 points from 2020 to 2024, but 16 points among young Hispanic men. The shift also held across college-educated voters — a group that in recent years has increasingly moved toward the Democratic Party. In 2020, Democrats won 54% of white college-age voters, but in 2024 that number slipped to 51%. However, nearly all of the decline was due to a six-point drop in support among college-educated men (versus just one point among college-educated women). A similar dynamic was evident among white non-college-educated voters. Harris matched Biden's numbers with women in this group, but lost three points with men. To be sure, there's long been a gender gap in American politics, with women more inclined to vote Democratic than men. In 2024, Trump's presidential campaign made it a priority to target men, particularly occasional male voters. And it's worth noting that Democrats lost significant support with white college-educated men in the 2022 midterms (though they gained ground with white non-college-educated men). So perhaps the decline evident in the 2024 numbers is part of a larger electoral trend? Perhaps men were more aggrieved by the state of the economy in 2024? Perhaps they were more turned off by Democratic positions on cultural issues like abortion, trans rights, etc? All this is possible, but there is one complicating factor: The decline in male support for the Democratic Party in 2024 looks a lot like what happened with male voters in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was the party nominee. In 2012, when Barack Obama faced off against Mitt Romney, there was an 8-point gender gap, according to Catalist. In 2016, the gender gap increased to 12 points. In 2020, Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, it closed back to nine percentage points. And in 2024, it had increased to 13 points. By and large, female support for the Democratic ticket was constant throughout these four elections; only male support for Democrats fluctuated. Again, this seesawing support is evident across virtually all demographic groups. Democratic support among white non-college-educated voters is perhaps the most striking example. The party's support with white non-college-educated women has been nearly constant in every election since 2012. But among white non-college-educated men, there was a six-point drop from 2012 to 2016, a two-point increase in 2020, and then a three-point drop in 2024. A similar gender gap was also evident among college-educated men. So over the last four elections, we see a similar pattern — Democrats lose support with men when there's a woman on the ticket, and gain it back when they nominate a man. Trump is undoubtedly a factor here as well. He's long preached a traditional form of masculinity that undoubtedly appeals to a certain segment of American men. Conversely, Democrats have long been branded as the more feminine party, for their views on issues like trans rights, abortion and even social insurance programs. But then why did Trump's support among male voters shift so dramatically in 2020? If it was the result of, say, his handling of the pandemic, why would such anger materialize so acutely among men? It's certainly possible that the Democrats' problems with male voters will fade away when Trump is not on the ballot in 2028. And it bears noting that female representation in Congress has steadily increased since Trump first arrived on the national stage. In 2017, there were 105 female members of Congress. Today, that number stands at 151 (and that includes a substantial increase in female Republicans in Congress). However, the presidency is a vastly different office with significantly different responsibilities than a member of Congress. The U.S. stands out as one of the handful of Western democracies that has never elected a female head of state. As uncomfortable as it might be to acknowledge, the Democrats' problem with male voters might be solved with the simplest, albeit most reactionary of solutions. Nominate a man for president in 2028. This article was originally published on
