Despite various signs the economy is improving, young male voters continue to say they're struggling to pay bills, Newsmax's James Rosen reported Monday.
On Newsmax2, Rosen pointed to easing inflation, stronger-than-expected job creation, and a dip in the unemployment rate as evidence of macroeconomic progress.
Yet polling suggests many young men — a bloc that helped propel President Donald Trump to victory in 2024 — are not feeling the gains in their day-to-day lives.
A new survey from Third Way, a centrist Democrat group, found Trump's job approval 34 points underwater among men ages 18 to 29.
According to the poll, 58% of young men say Trump has negatively affected their finances, while 23% say he has had a positive impact.
Sixty-five percent report they're struggling to pay bills or just making enough to get by.
Rosen noted that Third Way's pollster, HIT Strategies, is considered left-leaning by some. He also cited Republican data analyst Brent Buchanan, founder of Cygnal, who acknowledged similar trends among younger male voters.
"We have seen in the last several months that men under the age of 30 have really fallen off of Donald Trump," Buchanan told Rosen. "They made an exception for Donald Trump in 2024, and they haven't seen the benefit of it."
Trump won 54% of young men in 2024, an 18-point shift to the right from prior cycles, according to AP VoteCast data cited in the Third Way analysis.
That coalition included notable gains among young men of color and independents, groups that could again prove decisive in the 2026 midterms.
The frustration appears rooted less in broad economic indicators and more in affordability.
Nearly half of young men in the Third Way survey blamed Trump's tariffs for higher grocery prices, though many also faulted corporations and a "corrupt political system" for rising housing costs.
At the same time, a strong majority (73%) said American culture has changed for the worse since their parents' generation.
The numbers suggest a complex political picture. While some young men remain culturally aligned with Trump's populist message, many are impatient for faster financial relief.
Only 26% in the survey said they would back Vice President JD Vance in a hypothetical 2028 presidential bid, underscoring the volatility of the demographic.
Still, Republicans note that wage growth for blue-collar workers has accelerated and job creation has outpaced expectations, arguing that economic momentum takes time to translate into personal balance sheets.
With young men increasingly disengaged from politics when they feel unheard, both parties will be watching closely.
If Republicans can reconnect Trump's economic agenda to tangible improvements in daily life, they may solidify a durable realignment.
If not, this restless bloc could once again reshape the battlefield in the midterms and beyond.
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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