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In younger voters born between 1997 and 2012, the Gen Z bloc has proven more persuadable in their vote than previous generations.

President Joe Biden won the youth vote by 25 points in 2020, but in 2024, Gen Z shifted right toward Donald Trump, who regained most of them.

Tonight, student journalist Elijah Pines takes a look at the youth vote and where it might fall in the 2026 midterms.

I personally like, like, wow.

Like, yes, like there are more issues they really care about that though.

You have to be 18 to vote.

That doesn't mean young people aren't Sydney Stinson entered the political arena as a child, canvasing with her family for President Obama's 2012 campaign.

I was like six, so I don't really remember.

I remember being extremely cold, but also I remember the importance of it and how, you know, we were doing that.

And then he ended up getting elected.

And in my mind as a kid, I was like, I did that.

You know, I was the one who allowed him to be there.

Now, as an adult, Stinson is the vice chair of UW Milwaukee's College Democrats chapter.

Their goal is to make politics a habit for their peers by tabling or hosting events like a cookout, or when they put on a forum of candidates running in Assembly District 19.

For campaigns looking to win the youth vote, they have to dance with the 20 somethings before they get him into the ballot box.

Take, for example, Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group that has become a staple on college campuses.

Their tables are staffed with student.

Advocates looking to debate or discuss the issues with whoever comes up to them.

The first thing that I always think of when I'm tabling or with I'm talking to individuals from the right or the left, is I understand where they're coming from.

I try to understand their story and where their values come into play, because values are such an important part of where we believe things and where we fall on the aisle.

For years, it was assumed that young people rarely vote and would vote for Democrats.

But in the past few elections in Wisconsin, Gen Z turned out in high numbers.

Even in off cycle elections like in 2025 and in 2023, and in 2024, President Trump gained support on many Wisconsin campuses.

As to how these changes happen, political science professor Anthony Chergosky thinks Turning Point USA and its founder, Charlie Kirk, are a good example.

I think one thing that set Charlie Kirk apart from a lot of people on the right is he treated the Gen Z vote as up for grabs, and he treated the Gen Z vote as highly persuadable.

Kirk, like his organization, traveled to college campuses and debated students wanting to challenge his conservative beliefs.

He was publicly assassinated at Utah Valley University last year.

Before him, I was.

I always thought politics as a debate, debate, debate, a right and a wrong.

And there must be some debate in the middle.

Now, I've come to believe there's discussion, there's discussion to find a truth.

In the wake of losing young voters in 2024, Democrats are eager to reinvigorate Gen Z to liberal causes.

I think that's really been the issue is getting people, you know, interested in, well, why would I vote if I feel like nothing changes?

Well, we want to show you what could change.

Young voters aren't just divided by party, but also on gender.

In 2024, Gen Z men shifted right more than Gen Z women.

One contributing factor sticks out the overturning of the right to abortion in 2022.

The Dobbs ruling might have had a particular impact on younger female voters, because they're coming of age at a time when there is significant turmoil on the issue of abortion.

Meeting Gen Z where they are at also means meeting them online.

Charlie Kirk success came from viral clips.

The manosphere is an online circle of male content creators who focus on masculine issues with creators like Theo Von or Joe Rogan.

It's often cited for Gen Z men shifting right in 24, while Democrats have searched for the Joe Rogan of the left, Cherkovski says that's the wrong direction for them to look.

People aren't watching Joe Rogan or listening to Joe Rogan or listening to Theo Von because they crave political content.

I think the young men who are drawn to those programs are looking for entertainment.

They're looking for self-improvement content.

They're looking for comedy, and politics finds them there rather than them seeking out politics.

Unlike 2022, abortion is not a primary issue on the ballot this cycle.

What's top of mind for young people is more universal.

I think a really big one is the economical problem.

Paying for gas that's over $4 or paying for groceries like basic necessities that aren't as cheap as they used to be.

And to pay off that student debt that a lot of people are running into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that they're paying off throughout the rest of their lives.

remain divided on how to address issues, they do want politicians to know one thing Gen Z wants in.

Yes.

Okay.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Being far right and being far left is okay, but it's not going to get us anywhere.

In the end of the day.

I hope one day we can come together and form the country that we desire.

We're here for you just as much as you're here for us.

You know, as much as we want to help you get somewhere, you also need to help us.

Hello.

Are you planning on voting?

In the fall?

Reporting from Madison.

I'm Elijah Pines for "Here& Now".

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