Latest news with #youngvoters
Reuters
29-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
How a Gen Z gender war is reshaping democracy
In South Korea and many other democracies, a political gender war is intensifying among Gen Z voters, with young men voting heavily for right-wing parties and young women leaning left – a departure from the days when both genders tended to vote mainly for progressives. Emma Jehle explains.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Democrats roasted over $20million plot to win over young, male voters: 'You can't buy authenticity'
Critics have slammed Democrats for an 'inauthentic' $20 million plan to 'study the syntax' used by young men to win their votes. Democrats have been baffled as to why younger male voters are abandoning the party after the demographic swung to the right for Donald Trump in the November election. Looking ahead to the 2026 midterms and the next presidential election, Democrats are strategizing how to win back young male voters. One project obtained by The New York Times revealed a $20 million plan code-named SAM — short for 'Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan' — and promises investment to 'study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.' The plan recommends buying advertisements in video games and noted, 'Above all, we must shift from a moralizing tone.' Democrats were roasted online for the plan with critics slamming the party for lacking authenticity in their approach. 'Boy, are they gonna be sore when they discover that you can't emulate or buy authenticity,' one person said. 'These people need to actually talk to young men instead of assuming what they like or think,' said another. 'Cringe-fest. Consultants doing consulting things. They need to talk to voters, rather than analyze their language, or find different ways to spend money. Just start dialogues and listen. Authenticity is the antidote here,' said a third. 'What happened to being authentic? They really don't get it,' a fourth persons said. 'Someone should tell them about authenticity lol,' added a fifth. Others suggested the idea of spending millions to study young men rather than asking them shows the party is out of touch. 'Or, they could actually listen to them and respond to their concerns. But no,' one person said. 'It's not their words, it's the results of their policies that are turning young men away,' said a second person. 'How about they just stop hating men. That might work. But nah, spend 20M to try and manipulate them instead,' added a third. 'If you advertise in video games you will 100 percent lose that audience,' said another. 'This really goes to show they've lost the plot entirely,' a fourth person said. 'Dems doing everything possible to avoid just eating a cheeseburger and talking about free markets,' said a fifth. Trump pulled off an astounding political comeback and regained the White House after being declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election. More than half of male voters under the age of 30 supported Trump in November – a shift from 2020 when Joe Biden won a similar share up against Trump. About 6 in 10 young white men voted for Trump, but the Republican leader also pulled a significant number of votes from Hispanic and young black men, who previously were more supportive of Democrats, according to AP VoteCast. He framed much of his campaign as a pitch to men who felt scorned by the country's economy, culture and political system. Trump saw support from many demographics who had previously supported Barack Obama, but have grow frustrated with the political system.
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Anwar Ibrahim mints a dynasty – but Malaysia's youth aren't buying it
Anwar Ibrahim 's decades-long struggle for reform once inspired a generation to take to the streets, railing against corruption and cronyism. But two years into his tenure as prime minister, the political realities of governance have begun to erode his once-revered 'Reformasi' brand. Critics accuse him of compromising principles for political survival, settling old scores and devising a dynastic succession through his daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar These are not qualities likely to inspire Malaysia 's 10 million young voters, many of whom feel besieged by the rising cost of living, stagnant wages, a failing healthcare system and schools that do not prepare them for the future job market. 'People said only he could fix the country,' Ahmad Riza, a 25-year-old marketing executive, told This Week in Asia. 'But two years on, he's just another politician.' His sentiments echo those of many within his generation. While voters aged 18 to 39 were decisive to Anwar's win in the 2022 general election , polling suggests they are increasingly indifferent to the political mythologies that defined their parents' loyalties. Anwar Ibrahim shows his ballot at a polling station during the 2022 election. Photo: AP 'My father was a big fan,' said Tobias Lim, a 20-year-old engineering student. 'But I never quite understood why. I see him as a politician for the older generation, not so much for the people my age.'
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
This 25-year-old Democrat tried to make way for the next generation, then they tried to oust him
David Hogg warned Democrats they need to stop scolding voters and win back the young men who fled into the arms of Donald Trump. Now party elders are trying to topple the 25-year-old from his role as vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), alleging his election was not 'diverse' enough. Party figures warned that the attempted removal of Mr Hogg is 'emblematic' of the party's failings namely, its obsession with identity politics to the detriment of addressing serious issues. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Hogg said the situation was 'frustrating' but vowed to run again as vice-chairman, and warned the exodus of young Democrat voters in recent years should be a 'huge red blinking light' for the party. Mr Hogg raised hackles just weeks after being elected when he declared Democrat leaders were 'unwilling or unable' to meet the challenge posed by Mr Trump. 'We need a stronger Democratic Party that is ready to fight back,' he said, and pledged his campaign group, Leaders We Deserve, would spend $20 million backing primary challengers with 'energy' and 'passion' to 'asleep at the wheel' incumbents. Ken Martin, the DNC chairman tasked with rebuilding the party after its losses in November, is a moderate Democrat and is viewed as a steady hand on the tiller. Many in his home state, including Republicans, don't have a bad word to say about him. Mr Hogg is different. A survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, he is now in his mid-twenties and is a rare fresh face of a party increasingly under the control of a gerontocracy. He announced his run for DNC vice-chairman in December on a platform of winning back young people who had defected to vote for Mr Trump at the presidential election. (The US president credits his success in the youth vote with his appearance on various podcasts at the advice of his teenage son, Barron). For Mr Hogg, the Democrats are seen as too sanctimonious, too puritanical, and stale. 'To the drift of young men, I think one component is that they feel like we're down on them, elitist… like we don't like them,' he continued, saying they want to 'focus on being a young person and enjoying [their] lives'. In particular, Democrats failed to address young people's fears about the economy and rising cost of living at the last election, Mr Hogg believes. Urging his party to focus on 'spectacle' over 'statistics', he said Donald Trump has managed to tap into voters' concerns by speaking 'the language of Wrestlemania', while Democrats still 'speak the language of debate club'. 'People feel like we are condescending to them, that we don't respect them and that this graph tells me that you shouldn't feel this way,' he said. 'When actually it's not what economic data is saying, it's what people are feeling.' Mr Hogg was elected to his DNC position in February, alongside 34-year-old Malcolm Kenyatta, but the result was challenged later that month by Kalyn Free, a 61-year-old Native American woman. Ms Free, having failed in her bid to become vice-chairwoman, claimed the party should have held separate ballots for men and women to ensure a gender-balanced result. The DNC's credentials committee upheld the challenge, paving the way for Mr Hogg's ousting. Another election will be held to fill the vice-chairman slots if approved by the party membership. Whether or not the party precisely applied its own rules, Democrat politicians and others have questioned the wisdom of re-running an election at a time when Republicans are painting it as 'woke' and out of touch. 'The process they're using to try to remove him is emblematic of what's wrong with the Democratic Party and what people see as its failings,' Larry Ceisler, a Democrat strategist, told The Telegraph. 'It's seen as a party that's more concerned with identity politics than it is with the issues. And they do have an issue with young men.' Mr Hogg stopped short of saying the party had moved against him as a result of his pledge to challenge incumbent Democrats, but said party members had suggested this to him. 'It's impossible to ignore the broader overtones to this decision,' he said, adding: 'What I have heard from DNC members that I talked to is that they don't believe that this would have gone past' otherwise. 'Very flawed mechanism' Mark Pocan, a Democrat congressman for Wisconsin, warned the DNC would become 'irrelevant… if they punish duly elected leaders like David Hogg because they disagree with him'. Mr Ceisler, who disapproves of Mr Hogg's attempts to challenge Democrat incumbents, nevertheless believes the party leadership is using a 'very flawed mechanism' to oust him. Brad Bannon, a long-time party strategist, agrees Mr Hogg's $20 million would be better spent taking on Republicans in marginal districts instead of Democrats in safe ones, but said the new vice-chairman is one of the party's best chances to revive itself. 'He's a useful voice and he has something to say. And I think having a young, 25-year-old in the party hierarchy is a very good thing,' he said. Mr Hogg noted a poll last month showing Democrats' support among young people had fallen by 19 points since 2017, compared to just a one per cent fall for Republicans. 'That is a huge blinking red light that people feel like we are not fighting so they feel like they're not representing them,' he said, saying his party 'shouldn't listen to the consultants that brought our party here'. The sight of Democrats descending into civil war instead of training their sights on Mr Trump, who is under fire from Republicans after accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar, might have been considered bad enough. But the party is pushing out a 25-year-old rising star in the same week that questions over Joe Biden's physical and mental decline mount following his prostate cancer diagnosis. According to a new book, Mr Biden was at a fundraiser last year when he failed to recognise the actor George Clooney – not only one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, but someone he has known for almost two decades. He is also said to have forgotten the names of close advisers, some of whom have been by his side since the 1980s. Some aides reportedly fretted that Mr Biden's physical decline meant he would need a wheelchair if he won a second term. (In the end he was forced to step aside for Kamala Harris, the 59-year-old vice-president, following a faltering debate performance against Mr Trump). Just last week two Democrats were spotted falling asleep in congressional committees: representatives Debbie Dingell, 71, who was filmed slumped back in her chair with her chin tilted towards the ceiling, and 80-year-old Jan Schakowsky. In fairness, both had been in marathon budget sessions and Blake Moore, a Utah Republican, was also seen dozing off – but the clips had already gone viral on social media. Mr Bannon believes the perceptions of an aged, exhausted party are damaging. 'That's why we need people like David Hogg', he said, urging party elders to step aside to let a new generation make their mark. 'What's happening is a generational change… after taking a back seat in the party for so long, young Democrats want their chance to shine. They should have it,' he said. 'And the baby boomers, who have controlled the Democratic party for a long time, now have to give it away.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill Maher shakes David Hogg's hand over candid remarks about young voters
Comedian Bill Maher shook hands with Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg on Friday, after the operative delivered his take on why the Democratic Party lost a chunk of young voters in the 2024 presidential election. 'What I think happened last election is younger men, they would rather vote for somebody … who they don't completely agree with — [that] they don't feel judged by — than somebody who they do agree with that they feel like they have to walk on eggshells around constantly because they're going to be judged or ostracized or excommunicated,' Hogg said Friday during an appearance on HBO's 'Real Time with Bill Maher.' The fiery Democrat, who has spearheaded calls for generational change within the party, argued that the two major parties have swapped in terms of tolerance, which he says has contributed to the left losing young voters. 'Republicans used to be the judgmental a–holes in many ways,' Hogg continued. 'And since many Democrats — despite us, I would say, for most of us [are] coming from the right place of wanting to do the right thing — we've created a culture where we say, well, if you say the wrong thing, you're excommunicated.' 'That's just not how human beings work. Nobody's perfect,' he added. Hogg, who was elected as vice chair of the DNC in early February, said last month that his group, Leaders We Deserve, will roll out a $20 million to challenge House Democrats in safe seats as part of a push to bring in new leaders to the coalition. 'We're not only focused on targeting Democratic incumbents when necessary,' he told The Hill at the time. 'We are here to elect young people who are running in open seats. We're here to elect young people that are running open, competitive seats as well, and support them when they align with our values.' Maher on Friday challenged the young Democrat on how much influence President Trump had on losing those voters, pointing to the Trump campaign's argument that Vice President Harris cared more about 'woke stuff' than the electorate. 'I mean, if you go and look why they didn't vote for them, it was more of the woke stuff, wasn't it? Isn't that the strategy that Trump employed? Like, she's for they, them, and he's for you. That was the big ad that worked,' he said, according to a clip shared by Mediaite. Hogg brushed off the sentiment, claiming, 'Ultimately, unlike Republicans, Democrats have the hard job of making government work.' He later outlined what he sees as a pathway for Democrats to retain and bring in more young voters into their movement. 'What we have to do here is figure out how to bring people back in and work towards the bigger goal of advancing the future of this country and helping young people, especially get by so that they're able to focus on their lives and you know, getting with a young woman or something like that instead of how are they going to pay their rent, for example, or how are they working their two jobs,' he said. 'Young people should be able to focus on what young people should be focused on, which is how to get laid and how to go and have fun,' Hogg added. The Democrat first came into the spotlight as a survivor of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla. He has since been a vocal advocate for gun reform. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
