Maryland governor Wes Moore stuck for words explaining why youth abandoned party
One of Democrats biggest rising stars is just as baffled as others on why younger male voters are abandoning the party.
One of Democrats biggest rising stars is just as baffled as others on why younger male voters are abandoning the party.
The 2026 midterm elections are gearing up and Democrats are desperate to gain back a majority in the House or Senate to stop Republicans railroading through every nomination and policy proposed by President Donald Trump.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, however, struggled to give insight into why Democrats think they lost ground with specific demographics over the last few elections. But he said it probably had a lot to do with their messaging coming off as lecturing.
Asked whether the Democratic brand is toxic, Moore deflected and said this is not a new thing because there are policies that have not worked for people throughout time.
We have got to make sure that its not about a talking point. Its not about whats the right slogan. Its about delivering results, Moore explained during an interview on Sunday with CNNs State of the Union.
I think about the foundation for our race in the first place, he went on. It was young people. And a lot of it was young men, because I think we were speaking to them and not speaking at them.
But then, the 46-year-old governor got into a confusing line of reasoning where he made mention to the male suicide rate and how that might relate to a drop off in support for Democrats.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pushed back on assessments from colleagues that the Democratic Party is toxic
I think we were bringing them in, because if you look at the data that we have about young men in our society, there is a fall off, Moore went on.
The level of suicide rate for young men has exploded, he said. When youre looking at the fact that the employment rate and the job participation numbers have not grown for young men in this country since 1964.
Democrats over the last several weeks have been floundering and struggling to explain the direction of the party.
It especially took a turn this month when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined a group of other Democrats who voted for the continuing resolution that would pass the Republicans six-month budget to avoid a government shutdown.
More progressive members of the party were unhappy with Schumers vote – and it even prompted calls for the New York Democrat to step down from his leadership role.
And a CNN poll on which figures represent the future for Democrats, no one emerged a clear winner, further exhibiting the unsteadiness within the party.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did come out on top with 10 percent support while 9 percent said former vice president Kamala Harris, who lost against Trump in 2024.
Schumer and several others sat at an insignificant 2 percent when Democratic voters were asked which member of the party best represented their core values.
More than half of male voters under the age of 30 supported President Trump in the November election – a shift from 2020 when Joe Biden won a similar share up against Trump.
But Moore struggled to explain exactly what the problem is that Democrats need to address to win back some control in Washington – and pointed to improper messaging
About 6 in 10 young white men voted for Trump, but the Republican leader also pulled a significant number of votes from Hispanic and young black men, who previously were more supportive of Democrats, according to AP VoteCast.
CNN host Dana Bash noted to Moore how he was able to improve support among young male voters at the state level in the last election and asked if that was a promising sign for the party at the national level.
I think everybody needs to address the fact that if you look at the data and what happened, and the reason that weve really gotten here, is if you just look at the data – that 30, 40 years ago, there was a real fall off with young women and there was a big push, a policy push towards making sure that were directing more support towards our young women, Moore explained.
Now whats happened is a pendulum has swung, Moore added, making it clear that the party needs to focus more of their messaging on winning more male voters back.