Conservative message struggles as Gen Z buys into Democratic narrative

By Nick Givas | Commentary, The Western Journal

A Yale Youth Poll from the spring of 2025 found that voters between the ages of 18 and 21 favored Republican candidates by double digits, which could be a sign that Democrats are finally slipping with America’s younger demographic.

The survey revealed that although young people between the ages of 22 and 29 favored the Democratic candidate in their home congressional district for the 2026 election by a margin of about six points, those aged 18 and 21 favored the Republican candidate in their home district by almost 12 points.

That’s a massive shift from years past, when younger voters in high school and college were virtually a lock for liberals. Has the left finally gone too far?

In a piece outlining the poll with various quotes from student leaders, The Washington Times wrote that the tide is indeed turning.

“The youngest eligible voters lean more conservative when it comes to other social views as well,” the story read. “They’re less likely to support transgender athletes in women’s sports and oppose more aid to Ukraine.”

“It’s starting to feel cool to be a conservative now,” 19-year-old Kieran Laffey told the outlet.

Laffey, who is a junior studying political science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., added, “Younger people all over the country are kind of waking up.”

Generation Z, born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, seems to be more aware of how radical the Democrats’ positions truly are.

“Everything we’ve seen for the past, even decade, people like myself, young, white male — we’ve been completely demonized and almost hated and told that somehow we’re wrong, we’re racist or sexist,” Laffey explained.

The liberal wing of Gen Z thinks this shift can be attributed to misinformation being disseminated through social media.

“Technology is everywhere, right at your fingertips, with TikTok and all that stuff,” said Ryan Gaire, who is president of the College Democrats chapter at Binghamton University in New York.

He added, “You can just see blatant misinformation and it’s not called out anymore.”

READ THE COMPLETE COMMENTARY AT THE WESTERN JOURNAL

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