Staff Reports
After the Republicans failed to see a "Red Wave" in the midterm elections, party leaders are now trying to figure out what went wrong. Former President Barack Obama lays the blame for the GOP failures at the feet of Donald Trump.
Initially, it was believed that the Republican Party would gain control of both the House and Senate due to the unpopularity of President Joe Biden.
However, the party was able to maintain its narrow majority in the House. Some believe that the quality of candidates was the main factor that led to the GOP's losses, while others point to the rise of young voters as the reason for their success.
During an appearance on The Daily Show, Obama noted that the rise of young voters was the main factor that contributed to the Democrats' victories. He said that the young people typically voted at a rate of around 70 to 30 percent or 60 to 40 in favore of Democrats.
According to Obama, Trump's fiery rhetoric might have caused younger voters to turn out and vote, which led to the losses of some of the candidates who were endorsed by him.
The high youth turnout helped the Democrats close in on a Republican sweep, as it was the second-highest in almost three decades. According to data from a civic engagement research center, around 27% of voters in the 18-29 age group participated in the elections in 2022. This was close to the record-breaking turnout of 31% in 2018.
The CIRCLE study also revealed that the majority of young voters preferred the Democratic candidates over the Republicans. These were especially high in key states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which were considered to be battlegrounds.
The high turnout among young voters was also able to cancel out the votes of older individuals, who tend to lean toward the Republicans. According to an exit poll conducted by ABC News, around 12% of all voters were between the ages of 18 and 29, similar to the percentage of voters ages 65 and above.
