The 2026 midterm elections are fast approaching, and both Republicans and Democrats are squandering a massive opportunity while letting down the country. Neither party is seriously addressing the struggles of boys, sons, fathers, and husbands across America. It’s no secret that a surge in young male voters helped tip the scales to President Trump and the GOP in 2024.
Many felt unseen and unheard by a culture and political class that had spent the better part of 15 years treating masculinity itself as problematic. Trump’s 2024 campaign was explicit in trying to appeal to male voters and doing so in male-dominated podcast spaces. Republicans often act as if they already “own” the male vote just by talking a good game about masculinity and freedom.
In reality, GOP lawmakers have done little to pass concrete policies that tackle the economic and social crises hitting men hardest. AI will threaten millions of jobs, of men and women alike. Republicans have not secured their 2024 gains for the long term, and Trump’s approval ratings with men are slipping.
Meanwhile, most national Democrats still seem terrified to acknowledge that boys and men are struggling more than prior generations. The left continues to be paralyzed by the old orthodoxy that ignores male problems and frames masculinity as something to be dismantled. They point to a small handful of extraordinarily wealthy, older men and conclude there’s nothing to be concerned about for the male population as a whole.
It’s past time for men and women to stand side by side and demand that our leaders take the challenges facing boys and men seriously. If we want our nation to move forward, these issues cannot be ignored any longer. As someone who made addressing the challenges facing boys and young men a key issue during a 2020 presidential campaign, and another who has advocated for boys and men for nearly a decade, regularly meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to discuss the issues, we have watched what has happened with growing frustration.
Yet real movement is happening on the state level. Democratic governors in several states have quietly begun taking targeted action to help boys and young men. Maryland Governor Wes Moore has launched a Young Men and Boys Initiative, expanded programs to recruit more male teachers, and partnered with research organizations to deliver better support for mentoring and education.
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