For Zoomers, blue wave in US election evokes ‘millennial optimism’
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wave → evoke → optimism
AI generated
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AI → generate → ?
WASHINGTON – Will the “blue wave” bring back skinny jeans, owl necklaces, moustache motifs and stomp-clap-hey music?
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wave → bring → jeans
Since the Democrats’ blowout midterm elections victory on Nov 3, a sense of nostalgia has supercharged talk of “millennial optimism” – a social media trend that harkens back to the hope and innocence of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
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that → supercharge → 2000s
Videos and posts mentioning the meme are racking up hundreds of thousands of views celebrating the fashion, music and aesthetic that defined millennials’ young adulthood.
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that → mention → adulthood
For many members of Gen Z – people currently aged 18 to 29, also called Zoomers – Nov 3’s vote brought a taste of the euphoria that the previous generation – the millennials, currently aged 30 to 45 – experienced when Barack Obama was elected as president in 2008 on the Democratic ticket.
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Obama → age → ticket
The parallels are striking: Both generations voted against a backdrop of open-ended conflict abroad and deep economic uncertainty at home.
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generations → vote → home
Just as young voters were seen as critical to Obama’s success, these midterms saw massive swings toward the Democratic Party among under-30s.
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midterms → see → under-30s
An AFP analysis of NORC Civic Health & Elections Project data showed that 65.5% of voters aged 18-29 voted for Democrats, compared with 30.6 who opted for Republicans.
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who → show → Republicans
Furthermore, among young people who voted for Republican President Donald Trump in 2024, 16% chose a Democrat in these legislative elections.
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% → vote → elections
According to preliminary results from a New York Times nationwide survey, men aged 18 to 29 veered towards Democratic candidates by nearly 40 percentage points since the 2024 elections, and women from that age group by 27 points.
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men → accord → points
“This new blue wave that has been introduced in our country makes me feel very hopeful,” Aliya Baddely, 20, said.
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Baddely → introduce → country
She hopes to see Ohio’s governor-elect, Amy Acton make good on her promises on education and data centre regulation.
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elect → hop → education
Zoomer Caleb Varns, 22, also spoke of a sense of hope.
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Varns → speak → hope
“We have a lot of firsts now.
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We → have → firsts
I mean, we have first Muslim in the Senate, first openly gay man,” he said, referring to Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas.
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he → mean → Sayed
Both were elected on Nov 3.
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Both → elect → Nov
Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a millennial and one of the most prominent younger voices in Congress, said in an Instagram post “imagine all the seats we flipped last night... because you (created an electoral wave) the first time you ever voted, you’re like ‘Yeah, we can change the world!’”
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we → say → world
But it’s not all optimism.
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it → ’ → ?
Zoomers, whose school and university experiences were upended by the Covid-19 pandemic, are unsettled by what the future holds – from climate change to the threat of artificial intelligence on their career prospects.
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future → upend → prospects
For Alberto Medina, head of communications at a US-based research organisation, the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, said the two elections are really only comparable because they resulted in “a big Democratic wave that was powered by young voters”.
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that → base → voters
2026’s electoral wave was powered by “a Gen Z dissatisfaction more than millennial optimism”, he said.
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he → power → optimism
“Since the past two years, nothing in my life has gotten better,” said Caden Ferguson, 22.
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Ferguson → get → life
And while he voted Democratic, he said he knows several people who did not vote at all.
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who → vote → people
“I think they kind of believe both parties are corrupt,” he said.
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he → think → ?
Alyssa Schick, 23, said she saw these elections as a “major referendum on the current state of the country”.
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she → say → country
“It is a reprieve that the country has been waiting for,” she said.
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she → wait → that
But Democrats shouldn’t take the Zoomer vote for granted.
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Democrats → take → vote
“One of the features of young voters – they are not party or candidate loyalists,” Medina said.
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Medina → say → voters
“They might make totally different choices in 2028.”
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They → make → 2028
“I will change again if I feel that not enough is happening and more change needs to happen,” Lorentz said.
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Lorentz → change → ?
The Aporia
