Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning election win eight years ago heralded the start of a broader political shift, and the New York Democrat sees that swelling into a transformational movement.
In an interview Sunday on ABC News’ This Week, she acknowledged that her party had lost support from young people in earlier election cycles, especially young men, and said Democrats must engage with them to build a winning coalition.
“When we look at this insurgent wave of what is happening, oftentimes when people are doing that Monday morning quarterbacking and what demographics voted where, the big one that’s being ignored is the generational tidal wave, a tsunami,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
For now, the data indicates a modest bump in recent elections. According to polling tracker Catalist, millennials made up 25% of the electorate in 2024, up from 23% in 2020.
Baby boomers comprised a larger share of voters in 2024, accounting for 32%, but they are trending lower after hitting a peak of 36% in 2016.
