Young voters and women were projected to be major wins for Democrats during this election cycle, but the party only made notable gains among young women, who voted overwhelmingly Democrat.
Seventy-two percent of women aged 18-29 voted Democrat in House races across the country, according to Exit Polls.
That figure increased to 77 percent of young women who voted for Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s pivotal race, helping Fetterman clinch victory in the state.
One young woman voter from Ohio, Elizabeth Rickert, 24, who voted through absentee ballot from England, explained young women feel voting Democrat is “the best thing for their rights.”
Rickert also pointed to Republicans leaning more to the extreme and away from core American values like “democracy and rights for all,” voting for Democrats “is the only path forward.”
But among youngsters and women, Democrats hardly made a dent.
A mere 53 percent of women in all age groups voted for Democrats in House races across the nation, according to an Exit poll conducted by Edison Research.
Fifty-four percent of young men voted Democrat in House races.
The disparity between young women and young men’s voting preferences mirrors polls conducted by Gallup, which shows that over the past two decades, young women are trending liberal, compared to young men who remain centrist.
Since their strong showing on Election Day, Democrat lawmakers and leaders have praised the demographics that helped stave off a red wave.
President Joe Biden praised women, saying they “showed up and beat the hell out of [Republicans].”
His praise was primarily directed at younger women, as women over 45 didn’t deliver any significant victory for Democrats, and married women skewed Republican.
