Gen Z women want politicians who can make the ‘American dream’ feel attainable

This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. Strike up a conversation with a Gen Z woman about politics, and affordability will likely come up within the first 30 seconds. The cost of doing anything, whether it’s renting a home, staying in college or getting a drink, is the top issue motivating young women this election cycle.

In a new The 19th/YouGov poll, a majority of Gen Z women said they were worried about paying for the cost of healthcare, housing, groceries and utilities — and in each category Gen Z women were more worried than Gen Z men. Last year, 90 percent of Gen Z women said the cost of housing and everyday expenses was a critical or important issue — ranking it just above healthcare, abortion and immigration issues, according to a September 2025 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution. For politicians, it should be an easy way in — affordability is the top issue for just about every group of voters this year.

But organizers around the country say the messaging around affordability is not breaking through with Gen Z women. Reach is important if candidates want to tap into this group of engaged voters ahead of the next presidential election. Gen Z women turn out to vote at consistently higher rates than young men and in the last presidential cycle turned further to the left, creating an opportunity for Democrats.

But instead, the prevailing feeling among Gen Z women is one of disillusionment with a political establishment rarely willing to get radical with their solutions to a growing affordability crisis, young women told The 19th. They talk about how rent averages about $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, and how they stock up on food when they go home during break to save on groceries. Standard-issue political messages around lower taxes — “that does not appeal to us.

It has no reason to appeal to us. We are not concerned about taxes. We’re concerned about the fact that we can’t afford to eat or pay rent,” Metz said.

There’s evidence Democrats have been trying to get less ideological and more practical when it comes to economic issues. This midterm cycle, they’ve been focusing more on tangible day-to-day issues, like the cost of groceries, because it’s an area where President Donald Trump’s approval rating has been tanking. Republicans, too, have tried to center affordability in their campaigns, but the message has been mixed; at one point, Trump called affordability a fake narrative and a “con job by the Democrats.” The problem for both parties is that so little of that affordability message is breaking through to young people.