Did young voters really save Democrats? (VOX)

Did young voters really save Democrats? – By Marin Cogan (VOX) / Nov 11, 2022

Enough with the young voter savior complex.

Part of The 2022 midterm elections, explained

When President Joe Biden touted the Democrats’ better-than-expected performance in the midterms, he had a special shout-out for young voters: “I especially want to thank the young people of this nation, who I’m told — I haven’t seen the numbers — voted in historic numbers again,” Biden said, “just as they did two years ago.”

He wasn’t alone. Other Democrats have praised young voters for helping the party avoid being crushed by a “red wave.”

With votes still being counted in multiple states, and reliable voter data weeks if not months away from being available, it’s too early to say definitively what role Gen Z and young millennials played in the midterms. Without more solid data to go on, pollsters and pundits are already in disagreement with one another over what to make of the limited data we do have.

Early analysis based on exit polling suggests that voters ages 18-29 didn’t turn out in the same numbers they did in the 2018 midterms, when they voted at levels not seen since the 1980s. That’s led some political observers to reject the idea that young voters may have swayed this election. But when considered in context with recent election cycles, a clearer picture of young voters’ habits is starting to emerge: Young people, when they turn out, seem to strongly favor Democrats — making them a decisive voting bloc that can determine who wins in key races across the country.

CONTINUE > https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/11/23453280/young-voters-midterms-democrats-red-wave