Young women are the story
And here's how to piss them off...
There are plenty of takeaways about Tuesday’s elections. Here’s mine.
Young women are the story. In all three major races — the New York City mayoral, New Jersey governor, and Virginia governor’s races — young women were FAR more likely than young men to vote for the Democratic candidate.
Looking at young women under 30, according to NBC’s final exit polls:
84% backed Zohran Mamdani in New York City
82% backed Abigail Spanberger in Virginia
81% backed Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey
When it comes to young men under 30, according to NBC’s final exit polls:
67% backed Zohran Mamdani in New York City
58% backed Abigail Spanberger in Virginia
57% backed Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey
Democrats are improving their standing with the young men they failed to reach in 2024, but the gender gap is still striking, and gen z women remain overwhelmingly liberal.
There are plenty of reasons why young women prefer Democrats (more on that below)... But one thing’s for sure. Republicans aren’t helping themselves win them over.
Here’s what I mean: As results trickled in on Tuesday night, I posted early exit poll data from NBC on X, showing young women’s strong support for Mamdani, Spanberger, and Sherrill (since then, the numbers are even more stark).
That data was met with calls to repeal the 19th amendment. And it wasn’t just a few rogue comments. The idea that because young women supported candidates like Mamdani their voting rights should be taken away is all over my feed. Surely some were kidding. But whether a joke or not, the sentiment is serious among some.
This is exactly the type of thing that pisses off young women, a group that’s growing up with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers had before them and has found sisterhood fighting for their bodies, futures, and dignity. Whether they supported Mamdani or not (and trust me, I know plenty who did not), none of the young women I know think their entire gender should have their right to vote taken away. In fact, rhetoric that implies they should (which is just the latest in sexist and misogynistic comments that run rampant in parts of the internet), pushes them further to the left. And IMO, it’s this type of noise that’s widened the gender gap.
Yesterday, I asked some gals in The Up and Up community to weigh in on what’s driving gen z women’s strong support for Democrats – and where they see the gender gap currently manifesting.
Here’s what I heard.
🔑 What You’ll Unlock: Highlights from this edition
Why gen z women are backing dems
How bringing misogynists to the mainstream doesn’t help anyone
The things gen z women have in common