Why the Democratic Party’s dismissal of young men is driving them toward the GOP.
Photo Credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
By Bo Goergen
On a recent episode of This is Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Governor and 2024 vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was asked about the growing number of men shifting toward the GOP. His response? “I can’t message to misogynists.”
The implication was clear: if you’re a man leaving the Democratic Party, you’re probably sexist. That kind of rhetoric isn’t just dismissive—it’s politically suicidal and exactly why so many young men, including myself, do not feel at home on the left.
As a young male college student, I don’t feel seen or spoken to by the Democratic Party. I’m tired of being reduced to the kind of caricature Walz described. Like many of my peers, I care deeply about fairness, opportunity, and decency. But when I hear party leaders imply that men like me are misogynists by default, I start to question whether this party still wants my vote.
Of course misogyny exists, and it should be condemned. But reducing a nationwide trend in male voter behavior to pure misogyny is intellectually lazy and strategically reckless. It overlooks legitimate concerns that young men have, ranging from education, economics, and work to more abstract feelings of displacement in a rapidly changing culture. Many of these issues are being dismissed outright by Democratic leaders who appear more interested in labeling dissent than understanding it.
Unfortunately for Democrats, this is not just anecdotal. In 2020, Joe Biden won young men (ages 18–29) by 15 points. In 2024, Donald Trump flipped that margin, winning this same demographic by 13 points, a staggering 28-point swing in just four years. This shift wasn’t limited to one racial group. Among young Hispanic voters, the gender gap was particularly striking: young Hispanic men broke sharply Republican, while young Hispanic women remained overwhelmingly Democratic, producing one of the widest gender divides among any racial or ethnic group. These young men pushed towards the GOP aren’t just fringe internet trolls; they’re college students, first-time voters, and young workers.
It’s tempting to dismiss this shift as simple discomfort with voting for a woman, but that explanation is not just short-sighted—it’s outright wrong.
So then why are men leaving?
For starters, many of us feel that modern liberalism doesn’t speak to our lives or struggles. We see a party that claims to champion equality but often treats men as part of the problem. We hear language about “toxic masculinity” but rarely hear praise for positive male role models. We’re told to “check our privilege,” but see male educational attainment and mental health declining. In 2022, men died by suicide at nearly four times the rate of women, and the CDC has reported a steady increase in suicide rates among young men in recent years. Meanwhile, male college enrollment has also plummeted: men now make up only 42% of four-year college students; the lowest share in history. These issues are real, but instead of engaging young men on their terms, the Democratic Party often ignores them altogether.
Meanwhile, Republicans are seizing the opportunity. Whatever their policy positions, Republicans are offering young men a narrative that feels empowering. It’s a story about agency, strength, and identity. It’s a message that validates men’s voices rather than forcing us to apologize for being male. Importantly, Republicans are also positioning themselves in direct opposition to what’s broadly labeled as “wokeness.” But for many young men like myself, that word doesn’t just mean diversity training or social media virtue signaling; it signals a culture that too often treats men with suspicion or guilt by default. Admittedly, the anti-woke narrative may be broad or oversimplified, but it resonates with those who feel that their gender alone makes them part of the problem. Even if partially flawed, the Republican narrative names those concerns. Democrats, so far, have mostly ignored them.
Democrats don’t need to pander or abandon their values, but they do need to stop treating young men as villains in a culture war they did not start.
Democrats can begin by centering the challenges young men face in education, investing in mental health support tailored to young men, highlighting healthy models of masculinity, and speaking directly to a generation navigating a fractured labor market and shifting cultural norms. These aren’t niche issues, nor are they just conservative talking points. These are real American concerns, and they deserve a response.
Democrats need to recognize that young men are a constituency worth engaging. Not every concern a man raises is rooted in sexism. Not every critique is misogyny in disguise.
If Democrats want to win the White House in 2028, or even hold on in 2025, it would serve them well to remember that voters don’t support parties that insult them. Young men, like any group, won’t stay where they feel unwelcome.
Bo Goergen is a junior in the College studying political history and international relations. His email is rgoergen@sas.upenn.edu.
