For decades, the Democratic Party was seen as the party of the youth vote. Election after election, 18-29 year olds showed up at the polls, often in lagging numbers compared to other demographics, to throw their weight behind whatever left-wing politician was promising them the moon on any given day. They also were a key part of the "demographics as destiny" movement on the left as well, with the assumption being that Republicans would wither away as younger generations aged. 

Then 2024 happened. Young men swung to now-President Donald Trump, with those gains being mirrored among racial minorities as well. What changed? That's the question Democrats have been scrambling to answer with high-priced consultants and hotel meeting room summits. 

The latest attempt at solving that equation involves a focus group conducted by a "centrist pro-Democrat group" in several swing states. The implications of their findings are pretty hilarious, both because they show no easy path out of this for Democrats and because they tend to miss the point in the process. 

What happened?

Young men in swing states say the Democratic Party abandoned them, leaving them feeling helpless in providing for their families as prices rose and jobs evaporated. They felt no sympathy from the left, who they say brushed away their legitimate economic woes by citing their male privilege. They acknowledge historical patriarchy but assert that doesn’t make them invincible in a job market where graduate unemployment is concentrated among men.

There's a lot to say about this, but I'll start by pointing out the obvious truth that you don't appeal to young men by hiring "pro-Democrat" consultants to poke and prod them. There is no magical solution waiting to be revealed by a focus group, and recognizing that would be the first step in the right direction for Democrats. 

Regardless, you can already see the contempt jumping off the page in how the focus group is summarized. Despite claiming to want to understand young men more, phrases like "male privilege" and "historical patriarchy" are used to qualify their answers without a second thought. While the consultants appear to recognize that those claims hold no relevance in 2025 (and have even been reversed), they still perform the left-wing ritual rite of talking down to young men and casually dismissing them. 

That dynamic is a big part of the problem, and it's not one that is going to change anytime soon. Take this next paragraph as the perfect example. 

Men feeling left behind elicits eye rolls in many corners of the Democratic Party. The gender pay gap persists, with women making 85 percent of what men earned in 2024, despite greater female participation in the workforce than in past decades. The numerous calls from party leaders to appeal to the “manosphere” and appear less “woke” also elicit concerns that that means throwing marginalized groups under the bus on issues like trans or women’s rights.

I can't help but laugh. Democrats are trying to figure out why young men hate them while at the same time rolling their eyes at their concerns. Why? Because it might mean "throwing marginalized groups under the bus on issues like trans or women's rights." Newsflash: Young men (and men in general) are the marginalized group in 2025. They are constantly berated as the bane of society. Meanwhile, Democrats spend much of their energy trying to appeal to mentally ill people who believe they can change their sex and purple-haired women who screech about fascism on TikTok. 

The reality of the situation for Democrats is simple, and they don't need to pay consultants to figure it out. You can not have a party that caters to the worst excesses of the far left while also appealing to the majority of young men. It's not a solvable equation, and unwittingly, this focus group and the way it's framed show that. 

Past that, when Barack Obama is your party's only "masculine" role model, you've got issues. 

Incidentally, Obama was the only Democrat whom focus group participants could name as a masculine role model from the party.

Obama screams a lot of things. Overwhelming masculinity isn't one of them. If he's the only name the focus group participants could come up with, that should be a blaring red siren to Democrats to change course. Will they do that? Of course, not. At the end of the write-up on this focus group, Pete Buttigieg is cited as a "straight talker" who could bring young men back into the fold. I rest my case. 

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