Gen Z voters powered President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election. But, two years later, Republicans are losing ground among the youngest voting group amid economic anxiety, according to several recent polls published ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s inroads with Gen Z voters were among the most surprising developments of the 2024 election.
Young voters historically vote for Democrats by wide margins, but Trump lost them by only 11 points to former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, 54 percent to 43 percent, while winning young men by a single point, according to CNN exit polling data. That’s a historically strong showing for a Republican in modern politics. However, the latest polls have found Gen Z voters shifting leftward for the midterms, another warning sign for Republicans in the battle for control of both the House of Representatives and Senate on November 3.
Gen Z also held gloomy views toward the economy, a major driver of voter behavior in those surveys. The president’s party historically loses congressional seats when he is unpopular, and Trump’s national polling numbers have fallen across all voter groups since his 2024 campaign, when he emphasized affordability as a cornerstone of his election bid. Americans continue to face high prices, and economic concerns including tariffs, the high cost of living as well as surging gas prices amid the unpopular war with Iran have contributed to the decline in Trump’s popularity.
Gen Z voters are backing Democrats by large margins ahead of the midterms, the latest polls of the generic ballot show. In a poll from The New York Times, Democrats were winning over those between the ages of 18 to 29 by 35 points, 64 percent to 29 percent, with 7 percent saying they are not sure who they would vote for. That represents Democrats’ strongest voting bloc by generation.
They won those 30 to 44 by 21 points, 57 percent to 36 percent. Republicans won those 45 to 64 by 2 points, 49 percent to 47 percent, while Democrats won those 65 or older by 3 points, 49 percent to 46 percent. Overall, Democrats led the generic ballot by 8 points, 51 percent to 43 percent.
The poll surveyed 1,503 voters from September 8 to 13, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Democrats were also winning Gen Z in a new Fox News poll. Among those under 30, Democrats had a 29-point lead, 63 percent to 34 percent.
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