In brief
Young voters amid rising economic stress and mistrust toward both parties are showing lower turnout enthusiasm, with Democrats leading in national polls but not guaranteeing turnout. Between Chicago, the Bay Area and New York, interviews reveal a mix of anxiety about jobs, health insurance, and housing, as well as a split rural‑vs‑urban mindset that could shape the election’s outcome.
In the run‑up to the November 3, 2026 U.S. midterm elections, Xinhua’s feature illustrates how economic anxiety and political distrust are shaping the voting decisions of young Americans across city centers and rural areas.
Xinhua’s writers Yang Shilong and Xu Jing conducted interviews in Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York. They focused on how 18‑ to 29‑year‑olds are weighing jobs, housing, health care and the appeal of the two major parties as they decide whether to vote or stay home.
The first interviewee was Sam Liu, a Chicago resident who, after earning a master's in urban planning in May, works 40 hours a week across two part‑time jobs. Liu has no health insurance and has not seen a dentist in about two years. He is still awaiting a full‑time position, but the two part‑time jobs pay about US$30 an hour each, an improvement that has made his daily life easier.
"A lot of people are hurting, especially a lot of people who are working class. Even middle class is getting squeezed," Liu told Xinhua.
He says he hoped the lower cost of living in Chicago would help him survive, but he still struggles to save or invest for retirement. He has had to borrow his partner’s car and drive it for work, but he is trying to use public transportation or a bicycle more often to reduce gas costs.
In addition to individual anecdotes, the feature cites national polling. The Harvard Youth Poll, released on Oct. 22, sampled 2,024 young adults interviewed from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7. The poll found that among those who said they would definitely vote, Democrats were favored 63 % to 26 % for Republicans.
However, the poll also revealed that only 33 % of all young Americans said they would definitely participate, down from 40 % before the 2018 and 2022 midterms. The downward trend suggests the economic worries the interviewees described may be translating into voter apathy.
Rural young voters present a different picture. Among those who said they would definitely vote, the Harvard data showed a near even split: 43 % for Democrats and 42 % for Republicans.
When asked whether they were motivated by the Republican President Donald Trump, some interviewees in urban areas said they wanted Democrats to check him. Other interviewees in the urban sites expressed distrust of both parties, while a handful of rural respondents said they were becoming disillusioned with the Republican Party because of Trump’s policies.
Industrial and economic concerns, especially the pressures of housing affordability and health‑care costs, dominate the conversation. Ninety‑percent of the interviewed participants described significant difficulties in paying for rent or mortgages, and the majority stated that job insecurity prevented them from feeling confident about the future.
Sam Liu’s story illustrates these pressures. He previously received food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the benefits ended after he began working. He credits Chicago’s relatively low cost of living as helping him cover expenses, yet he remains in a precarious financial position. He said he “can have some room to breathe” now that he has two part‑time jobs, but he still does not have a safety net.
These economic anxieties intersect with political gaps. Xinhua writers note that the distrust in both parties is affecting turnout, especially in rural youth who feel left out of the mainstream political discourse. The fact that 33 % of young voters are uncertain about participation underlines the civic stakes of the upcoming midterm.
As the election day approached, the pattern observed by Xinhua suggests that while Republicans and Democrats still compete for the 18‑29 demographic, the result may hinge on how well each side can address the concrete economic and health‑care issues that are front and center in the minds of young voters.
