Warning signal to Dems: Younger voters shifted away in 2022

What? You mean young voters can’t relate to their “crazy … Uncle Joe,” as Barack Obama suggested in the Freudian Slip of the Year? The deuce you say. And get off my damn lawn, too.

Nevertheless, the Associated Press takes note today that while Democrats won the youth vote as expected in the midterms, the margin turned out a lot narrower than expected. Not only did Republicans make some gains in this age demographic, younger voters appeared less enthusiastic and engaged. That should send up warning flares for Joe Biden and Democrat leadership, Will Weissert reports:

Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November’s midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning, a potential warning sign for a party that will need their strong backing heading into the 2024 presidential race.

Voters under 30 went 53% for Democratic House candidates compared with only 41% for Republican candidates nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping national survey of the electorate. But that level of support for Democrats was down compared with 2020, when such voters supported President Joe Biden over his predecessor, Donald Trump, 61% to 36%. And in 2018, when Democrats used a midterm surge to retake control of the House, voters 18 to 29 went 64% for the party compared with 34% for the GOP.