For the 2024 election, predictions of a record turnout by younger generations influenced a prediction that Harris and the Democratic Party would win in a landslide by many people on social media. There was an expectation of a blue wave and with all that happened in the last Trump administration, those that grew up with it would have a dissenting opinion to Trump’s newest campaign. 

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However, in actual practice, many of the younger generation, and specifically white men ages 18-25 voted overwhelmingly Republican and for Donald Trump. While many questions lie around the election from interference in destruction of mail-in ballots, to threats of violence or harm in Democratic–leaning areas, Donald Trump still won overwhelmingly in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Thus the issue comes up of why did this happen, if Gen Z is supposed to be the most socially aware and active generation at such a young age. 

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Several factors that appear to be the case in this lean for younger votes were pushed from both echo chamber “manosphere” outlets and from parents/adults in their lives. The idea that, as a generation moves to become more socially aware, the most privileged class of people (in this case the straight white male) start to become more isolated.

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The manosphere is a collection or community of online outlets from podcasts of Alt-Right content creators like Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson, celebrities like Andrew Tate or Adin Ross, or online forums like 4chan and Reddit. In these communities, a lot of misogynistic and incel ideology gets shared around, along with the idea that it is okay to be who they are, which is reassuring for a lot of white men growing up who have felt some level of isolation, making them more likely to fall down this rabbit hole to want to return to more conservative values where their demographic was in control.

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During the campaign for the election, most of these manosphere spaces leaned towards Trump’s campaign on the myriad of factors that reflect the views of these influencers and spaces. With a population of these men already having a very misogynistic view, it’s not hard to see why Harris lost. This isn’t the only demographic that pushed Trump over the finish line however.

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Latino men have also seen an increase in voting for Trump, which is a bit more confusing as the rhetoric for many of them goes against what a lot of the demographic saw as a daily struggle. Many Latino men deal with struggles financially and with citizenship and immigration. A lot of the push on social media on Latinos for Trump came seemingly from misinformation as well as fatigue from the previous administration’s handling of the border.

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However it isn’t statistically uncommon to see a shift of Latino immigrants convert to Republicanism when gaining citizenship to the country, a name example being many Cuban migrants very against immigration despite being a very large immigrant population. Much of Latino culture is still rooted in machismo and conservative values, so once the worry of citizenship is gone, it’s clear many fall into the party that echoes these parts of their views.

In interviews locally, many of the younger generation that voted for Trump fell into one of 3 categories; voting for economic reasons, not fully understanding what they voted for, or voting what their parents told them to do. 

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Those that voted for economic reasons cite things from gas prices to grocery prices as a main factor to vote for Trump as they remember it being cheaper, though there being a divide if they understood what the tariff system that Trump proposes would actually help or not. Those that didn’t fully understand seemed to try to take a centrist opinion, or vaguely quote Trump’s “policy” or the economy, without fully citing what would personally affect them. The third category that seemed evident for a lot of first time voters in this election is that they just voted what their parents voted/told them to vote. 

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Whether a push from personal experiences and frustration outlets, to general lack of care for the election or its effects, many of the younger generation in certain demographics were a key in Donald Trump’s reelection, and subverted expectations from many as being the “woke generation”.