Democrats Dip Into The 'manosphere' In Search Of The Key To The Young Male Vote

Democrats were knocked backmost connected their heels successful 2024 by nan party’s erosion of support among young men. They were gratified to spot betterment pinch that group successful cardinal elections earlier this month.

In between, nan statement has been connected a ngo to extremity its erosion among young voters, launching investigation efforts, piloting different styles of connection and elevating caller voices. And it has already travel to 1 important conclusion, according to interviews successful October pinch a scope of group connected nan near moving connected nan issue: The solution to Democrats’ struggle to entreaty to young men won’t travel from 1 nationalist fig who will instantly, magically tie them in.

“If not Trump, past who? And nan mobility for nan Democratic Party that I deliberation is 1 of nan challenges we person correct now is, we don’t person a awesome reply for that,” Amanda Litman, nan laminitis and executive head of Run for Something, a group that recruits young Democratic candidates for downballot races, told NBC News.

“I don’t deliberation Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries person nan reply to that,” she added, referring to nan Senate and House number leaders respectively.

But while Democrats whitethorn not person 1 starring fig they tin trust connected to enlistee young antheral voters, 1 overarching belief is that they do person celebrated policies that — if communicated good and successful nan correct spaces — could put nan statement connected a way to triumph pinch young voters.

“I don’t deliberation that location is simply a deficiency of fame pinch Democratic policies. It’s a deficiency of nan expertise to appropriately pass those policies successful a measurement that really breaks done and resonates pinch these voters, right?” Danielle Butterfield, nan executive head of Priorities USA, told NBC News. “We cognize that we are ever going to beryllium nan statement that has a much favorable, celebrated stance connected wellness attraction and wellness attraction costs. The mobility is, do voters cognize that, and are we talking astir it successful places wherever they’re really spending time?”

The powerfulness of nan ‘manosphere’

In nan twelvemonth since nan statesmanlike election, Democrats person aimed to study why their messaging to young men grounded successful 2024 and really to hole it.

Some, for illustration erstwhile Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who was a collegiate and master shot subordinate successful nan NFL earlier moving for office, opportunity it’s because Democrats alienated young men pinch their messaging.

“If you perceive to galore Democratic speeches complete nan past fewer years, and you benignant of perceive to nan recitation of policies, if you’re a young man listening into that, you mightiness deliberation that nary of those were directed towards you. And I deliberation that was a mistake,” Allred, who is moving for Senate again successful Texas adjacent twelvemonth aft losing to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz past year, told NBC News.

“What I’ve seen is that if personification agrees pinch you connected policy, but thinks that you don’t understand them, their culture, what they’re going done and wherever they travel from, past they’re still not going to want to support you,” he added.

One spot that young antheral voters recovered a consciousness of organization and culture, Democrats say, is successful nan loose postulation of podcasts often dubbed nan “manosphere.”

These podcasts — hosted by comedians specified arsenic Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Tim Dillon and Andrew Schulz — often make "you consciousness for illustration you’re not alone,” Litman said.

“It’s funny, often very funny. It’s a small subversive aliases often very subversive. It feels intimate. You get to cognize nan hosts complete nan people of hours and hours of conversation: their lives and their, their personalities and their quirks, and I deliberation that is really special. Like, nan parasocial narration tin beryllium very powerful,” she added.

Litman’s conclusions astir nan powerfulness of these podcasts are backed up by a Priorities USA investigation task called Warbler, which useful to understand voters’ online habits and media consumption.

“One of nan things I deliberation that we were struck by successful nan investigation that we did is, group are looking for long-form [content], by and large,” said Jeff Horwitt from Hart Research, a Democratic polling patient that collaborated pinch Priorities USA connected immoderate of nan research. (Horwitt and his patient besides partner pinch a Republican polling outfit connected nan NBC News poll.) “They want a conversational backmost and forth. They want to study thing caller alternatively than beryllium told thing old.”

Butterfield added that media depletion behaviour among young voters is “fundamentally different” than moreover a decade ago.

“We were school our candidates to, like, ‘Get successful and get out,’ ‘Say what you request to say, and fto that elector move on,’ because their attraction spans are for illustration goldfish,” she said.

Now, Butterfield added, “that’s really not nan case. If you tin get their attention, you’ll person their attention, right? It’s not astir a deficiency of, a deficiency of eyeballs.”

A Priorities canvass of 5,000 voters conducted successful September recovered that while a mostly — 66% — of voters who reported listening to aliases watching definite "manosphere" podcasts successful nan past period voted for Trump successful 2024, location was still a agleam spot for Democrats successful nan research: an emerging break pinch Trump among this cohort.

Of those "manosphere" Trump voters, 8% said they now disapproved of his capacity arsenic president, while 7% said they would ballot for a Democrat connected a generic legislature ballot.

Meanwhile, immoderate "manosphere" podcasters person surgery pinch Trump connected issues specified arsenic deportations, Israel's warfare successful Gaza and nan Jeffrey Epstein files successful caller months.

Still, Butterfield warned, Democrats can’t return these cracks successful Trump’s conjugation arsenic an automatic motion of support for Democrats.

“We’re not going to conscionable gain backmost each of these voters correct distant conscionable because of their guidance to Trump. We’re going to person to make judge we are offering an replacement constituent of view, replacement policies that lick their economical anxieties, visions for nan future, etc.,” she said.

“That’s going to beryllium nan quality betwixt an okay midterm and a really astonishing midterm,” Butterfield continued, adding: “We’re not going to conscionable get by connected group hating Trump alone. We’ll get far-ish, but not arsenic acold arsenic we request to go.”

In past week's New Jersey and Virginia elections, for example, Democratic Govs.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger won by larger-than-expected margins and made gains among young men successful some states, exit polls show. But those margins among young men were still successful statement pinch their wide margins of victory, among an property group successful which Democrats for years ran up nan people compared to nan wide electorate.

‘Message, messenger and medium’ are nan keys

In immoderate ways, Democratic strategists and candidates say, nan solution to their party’s concerns astir its capacity among young men — aliases astatine slightest nan commencement of it — is arsenic easy arsenic conscionable appearing connected these podcasts and successful different male-friendly spaces.

It’s thing respective imaginable 2028 statesmanlike candidates have already dabbled in. In April, erstwhile Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sat for a astir three-hour-long question and reply pinch nan hosts of “Flagrant.” In July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, participated successful a four-hour-long podcast taping of nan “Shawn Ryan Show.” Both these podcasts hosted Trump successful 2024.

The problem pinch this strategy, Litman pointed out, is that not each Democratic leaders are comfortable pinch appearing connected specified programs.

“You shouldn’t unit it, but for nan leaders who are tin of having those kinds of conversations, I deliberation they should perfectly spell into those environments and beryllium a small spot consequence averse aliases a small spot consequence tolerant, rather,” she said.

“It’s some message, messenger and mean — it’s each of nan above,” Litman added later.

One 2025 predetermination victor who embraced this strategy was New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who gained fame connected TikTok, appeared connected celebrated societal media shows for illustration "Subway Takes," and joined nan "manosphere" podcast "Flagrant."

Allred cited these “manosphere” podcasts arsenic 1 spot much Democrats should beryllium going, but said location are section spaces pinch nan aforesaid informal, friendly situation — for illustration precocious schoolhouse shot games — that galore of his chap Democrats should consciousness comfortable successful but don’t.

“I deliberation that successful nan Democratic Party, there’s almost been a reluctance to prosecute successful things for illustration football, and I don’t really get that. I don’t deliberation you person to beryllium nan biggest instrumentality of it to cognize that this is simply a spot wherever nan organization is gathering and group are having, astatine slightest for me, these are immoderate of nan realest conversations I person successful nan full week,” he said.

Appearing successful these spaces would spell a agelong measurement “in position of group seeing us, not as, benignant of, elite ivory building argumentation wonks,” Allred added. “At a shot game, you tin person nan aforesaid speech astir policy. It mightiness beryllium a small spot little wonkish, but it’ll beryllium much authentic … I deliberation it’s what astir group are looking for successful their leaders.”

Looking up to 2026 and 2028, Butterfield said that a privilege “is making judge that we’re not sticking retired for illustration sore thumbs successful these benignant of ‘entertainment-first’ spaces.”

“I deliberation that your expertise to authentically pass successful these spaces should beryllium a request to beryllium a bully campaigner successful today’s world, right?” she added. “We request to beryllium holding our candidates to a precocious modular of electability, specified that if you can’t travel crossed arsenic yourself connected societal media, possibly we request to prime a different candidate.”