WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Voters between the age of 18 and 29 showed up in record numbers in the midterm election, preliminary data shows.
Exit polling from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement shows voters in that age range were key to securing Democratic victories in battleground states, saying more than 60% of Gen Z voted blue.
“You (young people) voted in historic numbers again,” President Joe Biden said. “Young people voted to continue to addressing the climate crisis, gun violence, personal rights and freedoms.”
“We kind of knew that was going to be the case,” said Tom Bergen of HeadCount, a nonpartisan group that works to register young voters. “Gen Z by nature of just existing is political, and the result of that is the turnout for elections that we are seeing and that we probably will continue to see because … only about half of Gen Z is eligible to vote thus far.”
At age 25, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Florida Democrat, is now the first member of Gen Z elected to Congress.
“Over 65%, 64% of Gen Z voted for Democrats and I think we’re going to continue to see that go up because our generation is really looking for politics about having their basic necessities met,” Frost said.
He said Republicans should take note.
“It would be a wake-up call for me, but I’m not sure they’re going to wake up,” he said.
Danielle Alvarez with the Republican National Committee said it’s too soon to draw conclusions.
“We have 14 House races that have yet to be called and two Senate races,” she said.
She said the RNC is focusing on the Senate runoff in Georgia.
