Trump won over Gen Z in 2024. Can the GOP win them back?

Democrats are winning over Generation Z by a wide margin ahead of November’s midterms, a trend that sailed in the opposite direction when President Trump won in 2024 over former Vice President Kamala Harris.

A big reason is the underlying theme of the 2026 midterms that has been hitting the GOP hard across demographic lines: affordability and the economy.

“The numbers are very clear right now on Gen Z leaning hard Democratic, and a lot of that is tied to the White House and how chaotic the cost-of-living picture still feels,” said Rina Shah, a political strategist and founder of Vental Strategic Advisory Group.

A New York Times and Siena University poll conducted in September found that Democrats are winning over voters between the ages of 18 and 29 by 35 points.

Shah said Republicans need to tell “a more clear story on economic mobility.”

“Candidates who do that authentically, and who treat Gen Z as voters who might actually be persuadable rather than a lost cause, can close the gap,” Shah said. “Age helps, fluency online helps, but the substance on costs and opportunity is what decides whether the attention converts into votes.”

Some say several young Democratic recruits may be helping the party win over Gen Z in the battle for the Senate. These candidates include 39-year-old Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), who is running for reelection, as well as Texas Senate Democratic nominee James Talarico, 37, and Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, 41.

“Those three [Ossoff, Talarico and El-Sayed] are effective for very different reasons, and Republicans should pay attention instead of dismissing them,” Shah said. 

Yemisi Egbewole, a political strategist and former chief of staff and adviser to the Biden White House Press Office, said the Democratic Party has a “blessing” of having a “good slate of rising stars” who are very relatable to younger generations. 

But he also said Republicans have people in their party to look at when it comes to winning over younger voters. Egbewole cited Texas Rep. Brandon Gill and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds as two politicians focusing on........

© The Hill