The Youth Vote in 2026
Youth Voter Turnout Second-Highest in Last 30 Years
CIRCLE estimates that 27% of young people voted in the 2026 midterm elections, which matches our early estimate of youth electoral participation from the 2022 midterms. It is the second-highest midterm youth voter turnout in the past 30 years, trailing only the 2018 election cycle.
This exclusive early estimate is based on data from The Voter Poll by SSRS and population data calculated by CIRCLE. Exit-poll based data can overestimate voter turnout. There is a +/- 2 percentage point margin of error, so youth turnout could be as low as 25% and as high as 29%. We will update this estimate in Spring 2027 when voter-file based data becomes available.
When compared with our early estimates from previous midterm cycles, this 27% estimate is a reliable indicator that youth voter turnout was similar to the most recent midterm and remains strong compared to previous decades. Immediately after the 2010 and 2014 elections, we estimated that about 20% of youth had voted in those elections—some of the lowest rates of youth participation ever in a midterm cycle. In 2018, our early estimate put youth turnout at 31%—a historic high for young people in a midterm. Youth turnout remained relatively high in 2022 (27%) and 2026 matched it.
Electoral participation tends to be higher in states with highly competitive races, and we estimate that youth voter turnout was 30%, in aggregate, in battleground states in the 2026 midterms. For the purpose of this analysis, battleground states are: Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. There is a +/- 3 percentage point margin of error on our estimate of battleground youth voter turnout, which may range from 27% to 33%.
Find more data and analysis of the youth vote in 2026 below.
Young people had a major impact on the 2026 midterm elections, with historic levels of support for Democratic candidates that shifted control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Read all our research on the youth vote and check back for more analyses of exclusive youth data.
Historic +35 Youth Vote Choice for Democrats
Young people across the United States overwhelmingly voted for Democratic candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
Nationally, 66% of young people ages 18-29 voted for a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, compared to 31% for a Republican candidate (NORC Civic Health & Elections Project).
The strong 35-point youth preference for Democrats in 2026 is one of the highest we have ever seen in a national election. It is also a return to the trend from pre-2024 election cycles of major youth support for Democrats. From 2018 to 2022, youth nationally preferred House Democrats by at least 25 percentage points in each election, including 35 points in 2018. In 2024, youth support narrowed to just 14 percentage points for Democratic House candidates and 11 points in the presidential race, according to data from Edison Research. Other data suggests the youth vote in the presidential race was even closer, and young 2024 voters backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by just 4 points.
Youth Give Democrats Strongest Support of Any Age Group
The youth support for Democratic candidates starkly contrasts with the voting pattern of other age groups—especially voters over 45. While 66% of youth nationally voted for a Democratic House candidate, 56% of voters ages 30-44 did so. Meanwhile, Americans over age 45 split their vote fairly evenly: 51% for Democrats and 46% for Republicans among voters ages 45-64, and 53% vs. 46% among voters 65+.
According to the NORC Civic Health & Elections Project, 11% of all votes in the 2026 midterms were cast by youth, which is slightly lower than the 12% youth share of the vote in the 2022 midterm election. That does not necessarily mean youth voter turnout was low; the youth share could be lower if it was an extremely high turnout election for the entire electorate. In the coming days, we’ll release an exclusive estimate of youth voter turnout that measures the percentage of all young eligible voters who cast a ballot in this election.
CIRCLE will continue to analyze and release data on young voters throughout Election Week.
Today’s young voters are the most diverse generation in American history, and their choices at the ballot box in the 2026 midterms reflect that diversity. As in other recent elections, data from the NORC Civic Health & Elections Project show that young women and young people of color were more likely to vote for Democratic candidates in 2026. At the same time, unlike in 2024, white youth and young men also gave Democrats strong support and helped lead to the overwhelming Democratic vote choice from youth.
There remains a notable gender gap in the youth vote. Seventy percent of young women voted for a Democratic U.S. House candidate in the 2026 midterms, compared to 59% of young men. That is a major shift for young men: in 2024, according to that year’s AP VoteCast data, 56% of young men supported President Trump.
There is an even more dramatic difference among youth based on whether they identify as “gay, lesbian, bisexual, or something else.” Eighty-six percent of these youth voted for a Democratic House candidate. Among straight youth, 57% voted Democratic and 39% Republican.
The youth vote also looked very different by race/ethnicity. AAPI (81%), Black (79%), and Latino (71%) youth gave Democrats the strongest support. However, white youth also voted for Democratic House candidates by a significant margin: 61% vs. 36%. As with young men, the vote choice of white youth also marks a major change from the 2024 presidential race, when white youth favored President Trump with 54% of the vote compared to 44% for Kamala Harris.
Examining race and gender together, the strongest support for Democratic candidates came from young women of color. Remarkably, more than 80% of young Black and AAPI women voted for Democratic House candidates. In another noteworthy shift from recent elections, young white men also voted for Democrats by a 10-point margin.
Read more, including data by education and rurality
Young people had a major impact on the 2026 midterm elections with overwhelming support for Democratic candidates across the country. That strong youth preference for Democrats helped power the party’s strong performances in major House and Senate races that helped shift the balance of power in Congress and major Democratic wins in gubernatorial contests.
Explore the youth vote choice in Senate and Governor races here:
Read more about the youth vote's impact on key races.
The economy was far and away the top issue for young voters in the 2026 midterm elections and—alongside other key issues— it had a major impact on their choices at the ballot box.
Fifty-two percent of young voters chose “the economy and jobs” as one of the top three issues facing the country. Health care, another issue with significant economic implications, ranked second, chosen by 42% of youth. The war in Iran (27%), immigration (26%), education (21%), and climate change (20%) were the only other issues chosen by more than one in five young people.
The economy is also young voters’ long-term concern. When asked about the most important issue for the United States in the next five years, “improving the economic well-being of Americans” was overwhelmingly young voters’ top answer.
Health care was an even bigger issue for young people who voted for a Democrat in their 2026 U.S. House race: 49% chose it as a top issue, compared to 29% of youth who voted Republican. So were issues like climate change (25% vs. 9%) and racism (22% vs. 9%). Meanwhile, young Republican voters were more likely than young Democratic voters to prioritize immigration (39% vs. 21%), crime (27% vs. 13%), and the national debt (26% vs. 16%).
Examining the vote choice of youth who prioritized each issue further reveals the salience of various concerns in young voters’ electoral participation. Young people who chose climate change, racism, and health care were most likely to support a Democratic House candidate in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, compared to their peers who prioritized other issues, youth who chose crime, immigration, and the national debt were the most likely to vote for a Republican. Young voters who chose crime as a top issue were the only issue-based group in which a majority voted Republican.
For many youth, economic worries stem from their own experiences and struggles. Close to a third of young voters (29%) said they are “falling behind” economically and more than half (55%) said they are “holding steady.” Only 15% said that they are “getting ahead.” Young people’s financial situation also played a major role in their vote choice. Young voters who are getting ahead split their vote evenly: 51% for Democrats and 46% for Republicans. On the other hand, 64% of young voters who are merely holding steady and 73% of those who said they’re falling behind voted for a Democratic House candidate.