Young voters drove Democratic midterm wave, early data shows

Early figures from CIRCLE, a Tufts University unit that tracks civic participation among young people, indicate that the 2026 midterms drew a large youth vote. Turnout among young people ranked second-highest for a midterm over the past three decades. Only 2018 was higher, when roughly 31% of young voters went to the polls.

Voters aged 18 to 29 favored congressional Democrats by 35 points. That margin held steady across racial, gender, ethnic and educational lines. By contrast, voters above 45 split roughly evenly between the two parties.

Shifts among key groups

Compared with 2024, several groups moved sharply. Latino young people, who narrowly favored Trump that year, backed Democrats this time by between 10 and 15 points. Young white men, 63% of whom supported Trump in 2024, gave 54% of their votes to Democrats this cycle.

Young white women also shifted by roughly 15 points toward Democrats. Rural voters moved as well, with about 60% now supporting Democratic candidates after half had backed Trump two years earlier.

Leela Strong, CIRCLE’s director, compared the pattern with the 2018 wave that brought in populist Democrats such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She stressed that this year’s contest was a midterm, while 2024 was a presidential race, yet the movement among these groups was clear. Her analysis also puts at 15% the share of young people who backed Trump in 2024 and then chose a Democratic House candidate this cycle.

Local results and candidates

Republicans have openly voiced concern about heavy youth turnout in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Across a set of battleground states, youth turnout came to about 30% in total.

In Texas, NBC News exit polling analysis gave Gina Hinojosa, the governor-elect, 77% of voters aged 18 to 29. In Los Angeles, voters chose Nithya Raman as mayor, making her the city’s first democratic socialist mayor. In Providence, Rhode Island, voters elected 28-year-old David Morales, a democratic socialist, as the city’s youngest-ever mayor.

Issues and turnout

Economic concerns and employment came first for a little more than half of young voters. Healthcare came next, followed by Iran, immigration, education and climate. Some voters stressed ICE enforcement, Medicaid funding and trans rights.

Overall youth turnout still fell short of earlier levels. Just under half of eligible young people voted, below the 50% recorded in 2020. Some who stayed home objected to US funding for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and they believed Democrats had not presented a strong response or had moved toward the political center.

According to the report, Elon Musk alone spent nearly half a billion dollars supporting Republicans. The figures remain early estimates, and they show a clear swing among young voters since 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• The Guardian: ‘People are active, they are fed up’: young voters fueled the Democratic wave

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