Millions of Americans – a third of whom were Gen Z or millennials – voted in the 2026 midterm elections. I turn 18 in a few days, which feels kind of like being born the day after Christmas, so the only vote I cast was in my school’s mock election.
I had done my research and knew who my candidates were for Tennessee governor, for my House of Representatives district and my state legislature officials; I knew where I stood on the three amendments to our state constitution. When I hit submit and snapped a selfie with my “I Voted” sticker, I felt ready to turn 18, ready to start my January internship in the office of Bill Hagerty, a Republican senator from Tennessee, and ready to vote in the 2028 presidential election.
I didn’t yet know about the
blue wave and the slide to the left among young voters in the midterms. But I still feel hopeful, and not just because the conservative candidates I voted for in my mock election won in my home state.
I’m well aware of the criticisms and stereotypes of young conservative voters – that we’re “trad,” anti-woke or resistant to diversity and progress.
On the contrary, this is a time of growth, creativity and opportunity for young Republicans. I’m here to tell you there are good reasons for new conservative voters and almost-voters like me to be excited.
The blue wave didn't wash away young Republicans' hopes
To start with, I’m shaping my partisan identity at a time of change and possibility for young voters. While polling suggests many Gen Z voters broke left in the midterms, an estimate before the midterms found that only 33% of young Americans definitely planned to vote, meaning a large majority still has to be mobilized.
Just a year and a half ago, the younger end of my generation, the 18- to 21-year-olds, had shifted right by nearly 12 percentage points. Data from a Gallup and Walton Family Foundation poll conducted in 2023 found that Gen Z teens are twice as likely to identify as more conservative than their parents, compared with millennials 20 years ago.
I’m excited about coming of age politically during a time of fluctuation – because not much feels fixed and a whole lot feels possible.
There is a long history of youth conservative organizing. Since its initial boom on campuses in the 1960s, it has gotten tech-savvy, branched out and experienced huge institutional growth. Organizations like Turning Point USA that foster debates and host student summits have reached wide audiences in-person and online.
I have high hopes for conservative candidates winning in 2028, especially because so many of the Democrats just voted into Congress are new to politics and untested.
Their inexperience means there’s no guarantee they will deliver on the solutions they promised young Republican voters, and rising candidates will be watching and mobilizing.
There's more room in the GOP's tent for young voters
I’m also confident that more young voters will turn red in the next two years because there’s more room in our tent: It’s becoming easier to define yourself in different and nuanced ways within the Republican Party.
Personally, I'm committed to priorities like abortion restriction, lowering taxes and a limited federal government that lets free markets thrive.
I am also passionate about issues not traditionally seen as conservative, such as passing commonsense firearm safety laws.
My identity may differ from a Republican peer who embraces some of these values but who is more motivated by issues like climate change and land conservation, for example, or who heavily prioritizes constitutionalism. There’s increasing room for us all.
Now, I’m not saying that young conservative voters or almost-voters like me don’t have a right to be disappointed after this election's blue wave. But my political values are more stable than the volatility of election cycles. And the signs I see in the Republican Party, in youth organizing and in the sheer number of young people who will be able to vote in 2028 make me hopeful.
When I cast my first-ever real ballot for president in two years, Gen Z and millennial voters will make up more than half of the electorate. With a surge of young Republicans coming of age, we are ready to get in the game and define the future of our country.
Caroline Kath is the managing editor and chief copy editor of Logos, the student newspaper of the Harpeth Hall School in Nashville. This opinion column was produced in partnership with the Students United News Network (SUNN), which connects student newsrooms across the country and publishes the first nationwide student newspaper, The SUNN Post.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I'm a young Republican. Expect more voters like me in 2028 | Opinion
