Basically Everybody Under 40 Hates Washington

The kids aren’t OK and they’re ready to vote. That should leave everyone in Washington worried.

Millennial and Gen Z Americans—those in their early 40s and younger—already outnumber Baby Boomers. To date, it’s been Boomers, the largest voting block for the last three decades, who show up on Election Day, whereas their kids and grandkids, broadly speaking, are chronically absent. But if 2020 and its remarkable participation among new voters is an indicator, that’s projected to flip in short order. Plenty of projections suggest that Millennials and Zoomers are poised to overtake the Boomers in both number and political clout, perhaps as soon as this year. It would be a fundamental remaking of how American campaigns are waged: ads during Wheel of Fortune are out, Snap ads are in, for instance.