“Democrats have to stop acting like the hall monitor": Hardaway on reaching young male voters

[0:00] Right now, there's a broader political fight hanging over pretty much every race we're watching. [0:05] Can Democrats win back young men who drifted toward Donald Trump? [0:09] The New York Times reports that many Gen Z men who voted for the president are not happy with him, [0:14] but they also aren't hearing an appealing pitch from Democrats either. [0:19] In interviews with two dozen young men in half a dozen states and D.C., many said they're daunted [0:25] by an unforgiving job market, pessimistic about personal matters and broadly unsure about where [0:31] they fit into society. Men are graduating from college at declining rates. Their median hourly wage [0:38] adjusted for inflation is lower than it was 50 years ago. And they account for about 70% of deaths [0:45] from suicide or overdose. And with key elections approaching, many said their political allegiance [0:51] remains entirely up for grabs. Joining us now, Cornell Belcher, Democratic strategist and pollster [0:57] at Brilliant Corners Research and an MSNOW political analyst. Michael Hardaway is former communications [1:02] director for Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and publisher of Hardaway Wire. Okay, Michael. [1:08] So if they're up for grabs, how do politicians respond to all those things I just listed and get [1:15] them not just to decide to vote in the first place, but get them on their side? This is very easy. [1:20] Democrats have to stop acting like the hall monitor. Democrats want to police masculinity and they [1:25] want to police men and say, well, we want you to vote for us and support us, but we want you to act [1:30] this way. We want a Joe Rogan of the left, but he's got to be within these parameters. That's not how [1:35] the world works. And so Democrats have to engage young men and tell them how they're going to improve [1:39] their lives. We haven't done that since Barack Obama created My Brother's Keeper more than 10 years [1:44] ago. And he was attacked by some inside the party for doing so. And so if Democrats want young men to vote for [1:50] them, then they have to speak to their lives and how they're going to improve that. [1:54] So, Cornell, should Democrats assume if young male voters are so disenchanted with Trump that [1:59] they'll vote for them or even vote at all? [2:03] Well, no, you can't assume anything in politics. And Chris, let's do a little level set before we [2:07] go too deep in here. Look, there is traditionally a gender gap in American politics going back as far as, [2:14] you know, we've been tracing the data. You know, there is women tend to vote more to the left and [2:20] men tend to vote more to the right. And that is consistent across basically all demographic groups [2:24] and ethnic groups. So Republicans tend to do better. Like George Bush won men by 11 points. [2:33] Barack Obama lost men by seven points. You see Trump won men by— [2:39] There's a big gap between seven and 11, right, though? And that's enough to change the outcome [2:44] of an election, I would think. Well, Trump won them by 12 points. But look at what's actually [2:49] been happening since then, right? If you look at the election data that you've seen right now, [2:53] you have seen Democrats get closer to men. And even with younger men, right? Trump won younger men [3:01] under 40, under 45 in the last election. But look what happened in Virginia. Spanberger did really [3:08] well with men under 45. I think each campaign has got to make a pitch to men, and particularly younger [3:14] men, and see them as a persuasion group. There's a lot of economic anxiety out there with younger men, [3:21] particularly younger men of color. If younger men overall are economically anxious right now, [3:26] what do you think African-American and Hispanic younger men are? I think the Democratic Party [3:30] has to speak to their economic anxiety, but also find, to my friend's point, they've got a land [3:36] and a values place. They've got to meet these men where they are from a values standpoint, [3:41] I think, better than they have been doing. So, Michael, do you see anyone in the Democratic [3:45] Party now who other Democrats can look at as an example of who's got the right messaging? [3:52] Wes Moore is crushing it. Wes is saying that you can both be smart and athletic, [3:56] and a good person, and a progressive, and be unapologetic in all of those things. [4:03] I think that he comes across as someone who's just himself, and that's something a lot of young [4:08] men can learn from. I think that we have a generation of young men between 13 and 25 who [4:13] don't really know who they are, and they don't really... Well, COVID didn't help, right? [4:17] Correct, right? And so, I think that they need to learn those things, and a person like Wes Moore [4:22] is someone they can learn from in that way. Cornell, in California next week, we're going [4:27] to see three Democratic primaries where much younger progressives are challenging much older [4:31] incumbents. Do young people generally see people closer to their age as better understanding their [4:39] problems? You would think that, but then I think Senator Sanders would like a word, [4:43] because he's certainly been able to energize. But Senator Sanders is unique, right? I mean, [4:49] I would say... But is he unique? I mean, it's... Yeah, I was on the campaign trail with him when [4:55] he ran for president, and everybody in his audience was, like, young, just about. Young or were hippies [5:02] in the 60s? But I think we lean too much on just an age thing. And I think, again, or just a male [5:09] thing, look, women candidates have to be able to appeal to these men as well. And, again, [5:14] look at Virginia, where Spanberger did particularly well, did better among men than we've seen, [5:20] and particularly young men than we've seen in some time. You've got to meet them where they are, [5:24] regardless of age. What I find fascinating about what's happening in California, and I think you [5:29] see this across the country, is that younger voters, both men and women, are stepping up and [5:35] running for office. And I think that's a good thing for us. And, look, they have to, because [5:39] power is never given. And if these younger voters want to take power and want to have a bigger voice [5:45] in determining which direction this country goes in, they have to run for office. But also, [5:49] really quickly, they have to improve their turnout, right? The turnout between, like, [5:55] those under 25 and those over 65 is better than 30 points. They have to be engaged. [6:01] Yeah. And I'm going to amend my response, my flippant response about Bernie Sanders. One of the [6:05] things that always surprised me when I talked to crowds, and the crowds came out, boy, did they [6:10] come out for him, was the diversity of people who were in those groups. So, Colonel Belcher, [6:16] Michael Hardaway, we're going to have this conversation as this cycle moves on. Thank you both.