Under-30 voters swung back to Democrats in the midterms, AP poll finds

Young voters flipped back to the Democrats in this year's midterms, according to the AP Voter Poll. About 7 in 10 voters under 30 nationally said they backed the Democratic candidate in their local U.S. House race. Roughly 3 in 10 said they voted for the Republican.

That's a sharp reversal from 2024, when Trump pulled relatively high support from the under-30 crowd. The GOP had been banking on holding that ground. The poll suggests it didn't.

The shift showed up in House races across the country, not just in a handful of blue pockets. Democrats needed young voters to show up and lean their way — and the AP's numbers say they got both.

Republicans now have to figure out what slipped. Was it a one-cycle backlash, or did the 2024 inroads with young voters evaporate? Either way, the under-30 vote is back in the Democratic column for now.

Expect both parties to fight over this bloc heading into the next election. Democrats will call it a restoration. Republicans will call it a blip. The AP Voter Poll is the first hard data point in that argument.