Podcasts, petrol prices and a war: How Republicans lost the young male vote in the US midterms

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 — Young American men who helped put Donald Trump back in the White House in 2024 swung sharply to the Democrats in this month’s midterm elections, and both parties are now scrambling to work out how to win them.

An estimated 59 per cent of American men aged 18 to 29 voted for Democratic House candidates, against 37 per cent for Republicans, according to Tufts University research cited by Reuters.

In 2024, the same group had backed Trump over Kamala Harris by 56 per cent to 42 per cent, according to AP VoteCast.

Republican strategists told Reuters the party was punished over the war in Iran and rising prices, noting that Trump’s strike drove up petrol costs and broke his campaign pledge to avoid new wars.

Democrats made gains by speaking to cost-of-living worries and by appearing on long-form podcasts in the online “manosphere”, which Trump had worked to his advantage in 2024.

Reuters said some podcasters who helped Trump reach young men later turned on his administration over the Iran war and other issues.

“No party owns them,” Harvard Kennedy School pollster John Della Volpe was quoted as saying, adding that Democrats could keep their gains only if they deliver real results.

Reuters said Republican strategists believe the young men will return if the war ends and living costs fall, while both parties see the group as critical to the 2028 presidential race.