After the midterm election, Associated Press reported on the revelation from AP Voter Poll of a sharp pivot in the votes of young Americans. Around seven in 10 voters under 30 claimed they voted for a Democrat candidate to enter the House of Representatives.
This is compared to the youth vote between now President Donald Trump and then Vice President Kamala Harris back in 2024, which was roughly divided.
Christian Collins, founder and president of the Texas Youth Summit, joined American Family Radio (AFR)'s "Jenna Ellis in the Morning" program to discuss how Democrats successfully shifted youth sentiment.
Collins noted that foreign policy concerns, particularly surrounding Israel and Gaza, have become deeply intertwined with economic and affordability issues for Gen Z.
"One of the biggest issues I hear about is the issue of Israel, and Democrats have successfully tied that with the 30 and under crowd… They've tied that to the affordability issue, and a lot of young people... feel like there's a genocide in Gaza," Collins states.
AFN reported on the draw between younger voters and socialism. Dr. Alex McFarland gave three reasons as to why: the youth haven't seen America at its best, they hold a "the world owes me" ideal, and they do not know the negative fallout of Marxist economics.
Collins also pointed to a fractured conservative movement and the loss of unifying leadership following the passing of Charlie Kirk as critical hurdles for the right. He stressed that Republicans must urgently regroup and better communicate the historical failures of socialism compared to free-market capitalism.
"We're divided as a conservative movement, and we're very fractured... What we've got to be able to convey — I'm diagnosing the situation — but we've got to be able to convey that socialism, wherever it's tried throughout human history... it's brought exile, poverty. People have just been in dire situations," Collins says.
Collins emphasized that conservatives must stop talking past younger generations and instead focus on addressing economic realities like student debt and employment opportunities to win back the future.
