As Gen Z Struggles With Housing, Groceries, Health Care and Wages, Young Voters Are Challenging Political Establishments in Both Parties
Gen Z is tired of fake politicians.
Left, right, Democrat or Republican, one thing about our generation is clear. We do not care about maintaining the status quo simply because someone tells us that is how things have always been done.
Matter of fact, breaking the status quo is our thing. And as a Gen Zer myself, this is not just political analysis. I am living through the same economy, frustration and political fatigue I am writing about.
Forty percent of Gen Z say politics is “very important” to their personal identity, more than any other generation. But 68% also believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Let’s start this off simple, then I’ll explain. Gen Z is the generation of consequence.
Consequences not created by us, but consequences inherited from those before us. Decades of lousy government, corporate greed, unaffordable housing, student debt, stagnant wages and an economy where simply becoming a functioning adult is ten times more difficult than it was for our elders.
More than two in five young Americans say they have trouble meeting basic needs, and the issue is even worse among Black and Latino youth.
So, before politicians wonder why young people are becoming less loyal to parties, maybe start at the basics. You cannot keep talking to a generation about protecting democracy, saving America or fighting the next great ideological battle when many of us cannot afford rent, groceries, health care or a house.
Here’s another way to put it, like the military. You can have the greatest cause in the world, like democracy, but if your troops are hungry, exhausted and poorly supplied, eventually you lose them. Gen Z is America’s current political infantry, and we are not being fed because too many generals are worried about voting, forgetting that to accomplish that act, we need gas money to get to the polls and food to have the energy to stand and wait in line.
That does not mean young people — especially us young Black folks — suddenly stopped caring about civil rights, racism, voting rights or other social issues.
We definitely still care, but we need something underneath us sturdy enough that we can actually fight for everything else.
That distinction appears to be showing up at the ballot box.
Axios recently documented younger Black voters increasingly bucking the Democratic old guard. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens despite more than $60 million in outside spending supporting her. Younger voters heavily favored El-Sayed, and young Black voters were not simply voting for him, they were also canvassing and organizing for him.
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One young organizer summed it up perfectly: “We want something new and fresh.”
We saw similar generational tones right here in Texas.
Christian Menefee, 38, defeated 78-year-old Rep. Al Green in the Democratic runoff for Houston’s majority-Black 18th Congressional District after redistricting forced the two Black congressmen into the same seat. Green has represented Houston in Congress since 2005 and built a respected record as one of Trump’s most vocal opponents.
Polling during the race showed Menefee performing particularly well with voters under 55, while Green was stronger among older voters. Even with two candidates who were largely aligned politically, voters still pondered – Do we want experience, or do we want a new generation of leadership?
Houston chose the latter.
The Democratic establishment still has a stronghold on the party, with leaders like Hakeem Jeffries holding firm even as younger voters keep chipping away at the old guard.
Meanwhile, Republicans should not mistake frustration with Democrats for loyalty to them because they face many of the same problems Dems do.
Donald Trump made major gains with young voters in 2024, but a recent Navigator poll found 31% of Gen Z voters who supported Trump now regret their vote. Gen Z as a whole also gives Trump particularly poor approval numbers.
We are steering away from both political establishments.
Young Democratic voters are tired of politicians who campaign like activists and govern like the establishment. Those who condemn corporate influence while accepting massive PAC money and elected officials who appear more committed to political relationships, donors and foreign-policy orthodoxies, notably support for Israel, than to the people struggling at home.
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We are done with performative politics and we know exactly how the game is played. We have watched politicians smile in our faces, make promises in public and then turn around and make deals with the very people working against us.
That is why candidates outside the traditional mold — democratic socialists, populists and even Democrats such as James Talarico and his grassroots campaign — can get our attention and our votes.
Gen Z is abandoning the idea that seniority deserves loyalty, that party affiliation deserves obedience or that “this is how things have always been done” is a good enough answer. We are trying to play chess in a world where previous generations walked off with some of the pieces.
So, yes, we are changing things up. You old guard politicians should probably start getting used to the new status quo, or we’ll just vote you out.
Until then, good night and good luck.
