Young people swung left in the midterms, and it's in large part because of skyrocketing prices

Young voters are feeling the bite of high costs. JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images Young voters rushed back to Democrats in the 2026 midterms as inflation crushed their wallets. Early exit polls show that Gen Z were concerned about the economy, especially gas and food costs. Candidates on both sides of the aisle talked about affordability, but young voters went blue. In 2024, Democrats lost their edge with young voters. In 2026, those fresh-faced ballot casters were fed up with high prices — and made their ire known at the polls. A majority of both young women and young men voted for Democrats in 2026, according to early exit polling data from Tufts CIRCLE/NORC. Overall, per a New York Times analysis, young voters moved 32 points to the left from 2024. That's a seismic shift for young men — 56% supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, per Tufts — and then swung 38 points back to Democrats in 2026. So what made younger voters have such an abrupt leftward shift? It's the same situation facing the rest of the country: The economy, stupid. Per preliminary exit polling from CNN and other outlets, just 1% of voters age 18 to 29 said that the economy was in excellent condition, and 11% said it was good. An overwhelming 90% of young voters said they were concerned about the cost of gas, 91% said they were concerned about the cost of food, and 87% said that inflation has caused their families severe and moderate hardship. Similarly, younger voters were more likely to say that the economy was the top issue facing the country than voters overall. "I know that a lot of young adults and Gen Z are having trouble just pursuing the American dream," Nathaniel Beisheim, a 22-year-old Democrat in Massachusetts, told Business Insider. This was his second midterm election; he's watched his friends and peers struggle to move out of their family homes or find a full-time job, which factored into how he's voted. "The youth is out there and is striving for better for everyone in this country." Many candidates read the affordability tea leaves on the wall, with hopefuls on both sides of the aisle targeting high costs in their campaign messaging. "I believe every Texan should be able to buy a home, raise a family, and live a healthy life without struggling to make ends meet," Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate in Texas, said ahead of the election. But, in many states — Texas included — younger voters embraced the Democratic candidates touting their own affordability platform. The Democratic victor in Texas, James Talarico, said in his victory speech that his win was "for every young person who's trying to buy a home, for every parent who's trying to put food on the table." In New Hampshire, another state with a closely watched Senate race, 24-year-old Jaime Payson voted Democrat. Going into this election, the cost of living was a top concern. "A lot of people in my parents' generation — my parents are boomers — were able to buy houses very young, work on one income, build the life of their dreams, set their kids up for success, and they don't really see that we aren't able to do the same thing," Payson said. Payson isn't "in love" with a lot of establishment Democrats, but, at this point, sees them as better than establishment Republicans; that sentiment extends to New Hampshire's newly minted Democratic Senator-elect Chris Pappas. Cost of living didn't seem like Pappas's "biggest thing," Payson said. "But I was noticing a lot of candidates in other states talking about that, which a lot of those candidates did win their elections. So I'm hoping that all of them working together in the Senate can help to try and make some change." Read the original article on Business Insider