The Brief

It's been a feature of campaign ads and stump speeches for months: grocery prices are out of control.

Affordability concerns, including high food costs, were top of mind for voters heading into the midterms, as the Trump administration's tariffs and the war in Iran continued to drive up prices. That economic strain helped Democrats win control of both houses of Congress on Tuesday.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the incoming majority would make tackling high prices a priority come January. "It was a tremendous victory for the American people and a strong rebuke of MAGA extremism, which has made life more expensive for everyday Americans despite their promises to lower the high cost of living on day one," he told NPR on Friday.

The question is how Democrats will do that with President Trump still in the Oval Office, willing to wield his veto pen. Senate Democrats won't have a filibuster-proof majority, and Trump may have little appetite to roll back his signature tariffs or reverse course on the Iran war, two of the main causes of high food prices.

Lael Brainard, who leads a public policy group called The Kitchen Table Project, said Americans are nevertheless expecting relief from Washington — and quickly.

"They are feeling like they are getting squeezed by high prices that don't need to be that high," she said.

What Democrats plan to do to lower food prices

Despite the political hurdles, Democrats said they intend to move ahead with plans to cut grocery bills, including by rolling back Trump's tariffs. Those tariffs have not only raised the cost of certain foods and drinks imported to the U.S., but also created other pressures on the food industry by making it more expensive to import things like machine parts and packaging.

The Iran war has led to a surge in energy prices, which has made it more expensive to transport just about everything. Fertilizer costs also grew when the closure of the Strait of Hormuz cut off a significant portion of the global fertilizer trade.

But getting Trump to backtrack on tariffs or the Iran war — or his immigration crackdown, which has led to labor shortages on U.S. farms — could prove tricky for Democrats.

"I think the president would certainly want to find ways to reduce the cost of groceries. Democrats [also] see that in their interest," said Lehigh University political science professor Chris Borick. "The mechanisms, the tools, the levers that would be most readily available to do that — there's quite a bit of distance between the president and Democrats that'll be taking over both the House and the Senate."

Several incoming Democratic senators also floated other proposals during their campaigns that aim to make groceries more affordable.

James Talarico of Texas said he would push back against "attacks" on the federal food assistance programs WIC and SNAP, the latter of which is undergoing a major overhaul by the Trump administration and has seen a precipitous drop in participation since last summer. Kansas' Adam Hamilton announced his support for a national ban on "dynamic pricing" in grocery stores. And multiple candidates, including Roy Cooper of North Carolina, vowed to block food industry mergers they say would raise consumer prices.

Democratic governors take a piece of the affordability pie

Beyond the blue wave in Congress, Democrats also made gains in state capitals across the U.S. on Tuesday. At least 28 states will have Democratic governors beginning next year, and ten state legislative chambers flipped to Democrats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Incoming state governors have floated their own ideas for how to give residents relief in the grocery aisle.

Keisha Lance Bottoms proposed allowing municipalities in Georgia to suspend or fully eliminate their local sales tax on groceries, baby formula, diapers and more. Gina Hinojosa, the governor-elect of Texas, promised to outlaw "predatory surveillance pricing" and price gouging in grocery stores. In New Mexico, Deb Haaland said the state would explore a policy similar to one in Albuquerque that temporarily waives permitting fees for markets that sell healthy and affordable food in so-called "food deserts," the Albuquerque Journal reported.

However state and federal officials decide to go about lowering prices, Americans say they want to see cheaper groceries soon. According to a poll released by the Kitchen Table Project and Global Strategy Group in September, nearly half of respondents said their most important goal was seeing their grocery bills lowered within six months.
Copyright 2026 NPR

In the home-stretch of the L.A. mayor’s race, Mayor Karen Bass and her former ally-turned-challenger Nithya Raman met for the only televised debate of the campaign.

They traded jabs over public safety, homelessness and other core issues for Angelenos. But one dig was particularly eyebrow-raising. It came toward the end of the debate, when Bass chided Raman for her support from bike lane advocates.

“There’s very influential people who are supporting your campaign who are very, very much advocates for bike lanes,” Bass, who conceded the race Thursday, said in the Oct. 13 debate hosted by NBCLA and Telemundo.

“Um, yes,” Mayor-elect Raman can be heard quietly saying as one of the moderators tries to move the conversation along.

While it represented just a moment in the race, the brief exchange encapsulated what was at stake for public transit and bike champions: Maintain the status quo with the current mayor, or take a chance on a candidate who made improving transportation and mobility across L.A. a centerpiece of her campaign.

Since the race was called for Raman by the Associated Press, public transit supporters have been cheering her win.

“I’m just on Cloud 9 right now,” said Jonathan Hale, street safety activist and founder of the grassroots group People’s Vision Zero.

 ”It is time for a cultural shift towards a city that prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists and people who take public transit,” Hale added. “We finally have a mayor who believes that.”

It’s not just bike lanes. Raman’s successful campaign hinged on a policy platform that viewed broken sidewalks, streetlights in disrepair and pothole-ridden roads not as intractable issues, but urgent crises that can be addressed with better governance.

Raman, who has said she used trains and buses to commute to work in the past, also has her eyes on L.A.’s larger transportation network. On election eve, while riding the L.A. Metro B Line with supporters, Raman said the region can buck its car-centric reputation and be home to a fast, safe and connected transit system.

“That vision is totally achievable, if you have the will. I have the will,” Raman said.

The will of the people meets political will

For years, L.A. voters have signaled their support for better public transit and improved mobility.

More than 70% of L.A. city residents voted in favor of countywide sales tax measures in 2008 and 2016 to fund transportation projects, which have resulted in transit projects like the first section of the D Line extension.

In 2024, two-thirds of voters passed Measure HLA requiring bike, pedestrian and transit improvements throughout L.A.

Streets for All, the influential transportation advocacy group that put up Measure HLA, has supported Raman throughout her political career. Its political action committee buoyed the mayor-elect’s run with nearly $1.7 million in ad spending opposing Bass, according to campaign finance filings.

Its founder and chief executive officer, Michael Schneider, said Raman’s victory further solidifies the sense that Angelenos want to see their built environment improve.

“It's a mainstream moment for safe streets advocacy,” Schneider said.

In her policy platform, Raman promised to “fast track safety improvements by delivering on HLA.” Progress on the voter-approved initiative has been slow and the subject of ongoing legal battles.

Damian Kevitt, the executive director of the street safety nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone, is also optimistic. Kevitt said the nonprofit tried its best to engage Bass and “multiple council members” on the issue of traffic violence, which, in recent years, has killed more Angelenos than homicides.

“Raman's office was one of the few that engaged,” Kevitt said. “Time will tell, but we think that the future looks brighter.”

Raman has said she wants to create a Vision Zero director in the mayor’s office to “make safety the governing lens for every decision made related to our streets.” In 2015, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti adopted a policy framework known as Vision Zero to zero out traffic deaths by 2025.

Now that Raman’s been elected mayor, the future of a contentious road project near Griffith Park could shift. The project emerged as a flashpoint about street safety during the campaign. Raman had pushed for a long-studied lane reduction plan along Forest Lawn Drive. Bass canned that proposal just a few months before the project’s groundbreaking and adopted a design to widen the roadway’s lanes instead.

Reinstating her vision for Forest Lawn Drive will require Raman to work with her colleagues on L.A. City Council, nearly all of whom endorsed Bass in the mayoral election. Most have said they’re ready to work with her. 

A powerful voice on Metro’s board 

The mayor of L.A. has a dedicated seat on the 13-person Metro Board and can appoint three of its members. That accounts for roughly a third of the voting power on the powerful body that makes countywide transportation planning decisions. The rest of the board is made up of all five L.A. County supervisors and non-L.A. city representatives.

Nick Andert, a documentary filmmaker and transit advocate YouTuber, said he wants to see Raman appoint people who use Metro “at least from time to time” and also someone with relevant expertise to transit planning.

Bass' current appointments include the founding member of a faith-based development group in South L.A., Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, as well as L.A. City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Imelda Padilla. When Raman joins the board in December, she’ll have the power to change those appointments.

L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the mayor’s appointees often vote as a bloc. She said disagreements with the L.A. mayor often mean disagreeing with “potentially four votes on the board,” as was the case earlier this year during deliberations over how to extend a Metro rail line into West Hollywood.

Horvath, who endorsed Raman for mayor in October, said she’s looking forward to working with someone who has demonstrated interest in transit. She pointed to Raman’s support of projects like the Sepulveda Transit Corridor and K-Line Northern Extension, and making day-to-day operations of the transit system more reliable.

“Raman has really listened to what people are looking for,” Horvath said. “If we listen to our riders more and make those improvements, those are the things that help bring people into the system.”

The mayor-elect has signaled her support for extending Metro’s operations later into the night, a proposal that Cassy Horton, co-founder of the Downtown L.A. Residents Association, hopes materializes.

“Downtown is a nightlife hub,” Horton said. “It would be a huge game changer, probably reviving nightlife, if trains were running until bars and restaurants close.”

In a statement, Metro congratulated Raman on her victory.

“We look forward to welcoming her to the Board,” Metro said, adding its gratitude to Bass for making Metro a “safer, more welcoming and equitable agency.”

Workers repair potholes and skim a large portion of street in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2026.

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Genaro Molina

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Quick-turn improvements promised in Raman’s first 100 days

As the incoming mayor, Raman will lead city departments that impact transportation and mobility. In her first 100 days in office, Raman has pledged to begin addressing urgent road repairs and potholes. She also said she’ll make public when broken streetlights in the city will be fixed.

“ I love the fact that Nithya Raman has built her agenda on making cities work from the sidewalks up,” said Hilary Norton, executive director of FastLink DTLA.

Norton said cities are successful when residents, including those with disabilities, can travel through local infrastructure with ease.

“ We meet on the sidewalks and we travel together and we interact together, we're bringing our democracy back,” Norton said.

When temperatures rise above 70 degrees, tiny West Nile viral particles begin to rapidly replicate in the gut of Culex mosquitoes, which then go hunting for their next “blood meal,” injecting virus-laden saliva into their prey when they feast.

This year, California’s warm, wet summer and fall produced the most West Nile activity in five years. As of Nov. 6, the virus has seriously sickened 528 people and killed 32, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Most people who are infected never feel sick, but about 1 in 5 may develop fever, headache and body aches. For the rare few — 1 in 150 — things get serious: The virus can hitch a ride to the brain, causing inflammation, neurological problems and even death. There is no cure, only supportive medical care.

Southern California bore the brunt of infections, with Los Angeles County accounting for more than half of all reported human cases.

Residents there may soon notice a reprieve from mosquitoes, as cooler nights slow both mosquito breeding and growth of the virus. But experts still worry about what comes next, as climate change and extreme weather create conditions for mosquito-borne illness to surge, particularly along the coast and in floodplains.

“We're all scared of next year,” said Paula Macedo, chair of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. “With the amount of activity that we already saw this year and having the forecast of being an El Niño year, we are all bracing ourselves.”

Whether next year brings relief or another surge depends on a tangle of birds, mosquitoes and weather that even experts struggle to predict.

Coastal California at risk of increased disease

In September, a warm storm swept past Southern California’s coastal and inland regions. The outer tendrils of Hurricane Marie poured an inch-and-a-half of rain across much of the westside of Los Angeles; downtown L.A. broke a rainfall record from 1965. In the following days, temperatures reached a high of 104 degrees, with overnight lows failing to dip below 77 degrees.

Mosquitoes thrived in the following days. The rainfall flushed mosquito-killing treatments out of more than 3,000 miles of underground storm drains, according to the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

“One of our biggest sources for Culex (mosquitoes) are our underground storm drains,” said Susanne Kluh, the district’s general manager. “It's pretty much 72 degrees down there and humid all year round.”

Beachgoers stand in thick humidity as Hurricane Marie moves along, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, on Huntington Beach, southern Calif.

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Ethan Swope

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The district treats storm drains monthly, but with the larvicide washed out to sea, mosquito populations surged. At one point this summer, Kluh said more than 70% of mosquitoes trapped for sampling carried West Nile virus. That share has fallen in recent weeks to about one-third.

Research suggests that climate change will increase risk of West Nile transmission along Southern California’s coast. A UC Berkeley-led study of Los Angeles-area data from 2006 to 2016 found a narrow tipping point: when average temperatures stayed below about 70 degrees, the virus was much less likely to turn up in mosquitoes, and when they rose above about 73, it became much more likely. Higher temperatures were also linked to more human infections.

Coastal Los Angeles sits right at that edge. Summer averages hover in the high 60s to low 70s, and a few degrees of warming can push it over. That’s precisely what happened this year.

“The longer that those temperatures are appropriate, the more opportunity there can be for human cases,” said Tristan Hallum, scientific director for San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

The virus moves in a complex loop driven by birds, mosquitoes and weather conditions. A female mosquito feeding on an infected bird can ingest the virus and subsequently infect other birds and sometimes humans. But birds that have been previously infected and survived become immune to West Nile, and their blood no longer carries virus for feasting mosquitoes to consume. 

That immunity tends to produce a natural three- to five-year cycle of West Nile activity, meaning Los Angeles, Orange County and other areas with many cases may get a reprieve next year, but other parts of the state remain vulnerable.

Virus flourishes during extreme weather

Federal forecasters give a very strong El Niño a greater than 90% chance this winter, raising the odds of heavy rain, particularly in Southern California. That worries public health and vector control officials: if floodwaters linger into spring as temperatures rise, mosquitoes could boom.

That’s happened before. In 2023, heavy precipitation and flooding filled the long-dry Tulare Lake basin in the Central Valley, submerging vast stretches of agricultural land and reviving wetland habitats. The lake persisted for roughly a year, temporarily changing bird migration patterns and behavior; it also created prime habitat for the state’s native Culex mosquitoes.

That year health officials recorded 433 human cases of West Nile.

Drought matters too, and in a counterintuitive way. In 2014 and 2015, more than 1,600 people contracted West Nile during some of the driest years on record.

“One hypothesis is that the dry conditions bring birds and mosquitoes into closer contact due to the water being more limited across the landscape,” said Chris Barker, a professor at UC Davis who studies mosquito-borne illnesses and helps run the state’s West Nile surveillance program.

Because West Nile depends on a shifting mix of birds, mosquitoes and weather, cases won’t climb steadily year after year as climate warms, Barker said. Instead, extreme weather — both floods and drought — will create more years when conditions line up for outbreaks, making the virus harder to fight.

“Climate change has the effect of tipping the scales against us just a little bit more,” he added.

Experts seek vaccine

There is no vaccine to protect against West Nile virus. Aaron Brault, a top West Nile expert and researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an email that the U.S. needs one.

“Despite West Nile virus being an important cause of illness in the United States for more than 25 years, our overall toolbox is limited,” Brault said.

The CDC accepted only written questions and would not make Brault available for an interview.

Repellent and long sleeves help to decrease risk, but people frequently forgo these measures, Brault said, and those measures “have not adequately reduced the number of West Nile virus disease cases or deaths in the United States.”

The CDC is exploring new ways to combat West Nile and encourage development of a vaccine, new treatments and better diagnostic tests, but it’s difficult work. West Nile outbreaks are unpredictable, making it tough to run the large clinical studies vaccines require.

“Viruses do defy us sometimes, especially the people trying to predict them,” Barker said.

Climate change supercharges that uncertainty and makes it harder for the people trying to keep mosquito numbers low.

Vector control faces new challenges, limited funding

Vector control districts across California spend millions each year trapping and killing mosquitoes. Residents fund the work locally through property taxes, typically $4 to $10 a year, according to the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California. New pests and longer mosquito seasons challenge their work.

The mosquitoes most Southern California residents swatted and scratched at this year were likely not the West Nile bearing Culex mosquito, but an invasive species called Aedes aegypti.

Native Culex mosquito species bite between dusk and dawn and prefer birds to humans, though they’re opportunistic biters. In contrast, the black-and-white striped Aedes hunts during the day, and its meal of choice is human blood. It doesn’t transmit West Nile Virus, but it can spread other infectious diseases such as dengue, zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Aedes is also harder to control. It breeds in as little as a teaspoon of water, and its eggs can also survive months of drought, reviving whenever wet weather returns. Some vector control districts in California have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars releasing sterile male Aedes mosquitoes to reduce the overall number of mosquitoes, taking away from the ability to fight Culex mosquitoes.

Disasters can add to the strain. The Eaton fire, which destroyed 9,000 structures in 2025, left behind 1,400 stagnant swimming pools.

“Budget over time has been stretched really thin by having to respond to these additional mosquitoes and additional causes,” Macedo, with the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California, said.

State law limits how much local governments can raise fees for these services, though some vector control districts have gone to voters to ask for more money.

Still, Macedo said, no budget can cover every backyard.

“We cannot enter every property. We cannot treat every mosquito source,” she said. “We need people to understand how they can prevent the situation."

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Voters on Saturday rejected a measure that would have weakened California’s landmark environmental law by fast-tracking reviews for some projects.

With about 76% of votes counted, voters rejected Prop. 45 by 55.7% to 44.3%.

The vote maintains the status quo under the state’s Environmental Quality Act, which since 1970 has required public agencies to review project developments that could have harmful environmental impacts, and mitigate those harms.

“Californians have sent a clear message to corporate developers, utilities and data center builders that they will not stand for a broad assault at the ballot box on state law protecting our air, water and natural resources,” No on 45’s Woody Little said. “We were outspent but not outgunned.”

Supporters had said the changes would reduce building costs. The California Chamber of Commerce sponsored Proposition 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, which would limit the length of environmental reviews for projects deemed “essential” to 365 business days and require courts to resolve litigation in 270 calendar days. Those projects include housing, water, broadband and transit developments.

Proponents said the savings from building more quickly would pass to consumers and spent $41 million campaigning for the measure. The Building a Better California political action committee was the largest donor, giving $10 million to the campaign. The organization is funded partly by current and former Google executives Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt. Two of the largest investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Edison, together donated $4.4 million.

Environmental groups argued the measure would go too far in weakening a law meant to protect people from environmental harms. Opponents, including a coalition of environmental, health and union organizations, spent $30 million trying to stop it. Wendy Schmidt, a Democratic philanthropist, was the largest donor, giving $10 million to the campaign. The political action committee Clean and Healthy California Sponsored by Environmental Organizations contributed $7 million.

The California Democratic Party opposed the measure. The California Republican Party supported it, while county Republican groups were split.

Deborah Sivas, an environmental law professor at Stanford University, said Prop. 45 would radically change current law. It would shift power “away from local governments and to developers by giving them some new tools … and limiting what courts can do in terms of reviewing decisions that agencies and local governments make,” she said.

CEQA and housing

California’s environmental review law, signed in 1970, requires agencies to assess the environmental impacts of developments and help mitigate them.

Over decades, developers have raised concerns about the process, arguing litigation and bureaucracy slow down construction.

State legislators have tried to fix the problem by passing laws that exempt or streamline certain projects from environmental review. In 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws that exempt many urban housing projects from the full review process.

But some supporters of Prop. 45, including the California Building Industry Association and the California Council for Affordable Housing, say those changes don’t go far enough.

“It’s an important piece of the puzzle, but (that type of housing) does not produce quickly or at scale,” said Jennifer Hernandez, an attorney who helped write the measure. “We need quicker, at scale, affordable housing.”

Supporters say Prop. 45 would help California redevelop large, unused sites like malls and parking lots into housing and make it easier to build away from urban areas.

Pro-housing groups, public agencies divided 

Pro-housing and local government groups usually support CEQA reform, but Prop. 45 has divided many of them.

Housing advocates in the Bay Area, including East Bay for Everyone and the Greenbelt Alliance, oppose the measure. Other Yes in My Backyard groups are neutral, including Abundant Housing Los Angeles and both California YIMBY and YIMBY Action — the movement’s two flagship advocacy groups.

The split between pro-housing groups lies in whether California should keep building outward onto undeveloped land or promote construction in urban centers. Some supporters, including Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, have said the state needs all types of housing.

Others say building away from urban centers would make it harder to address climate change.

“We believe we can (and must) solve the housing and climate crises simultaneously. That means building communities with denser housing and alternatives to automobile dependence,” wrote Max Dubler of California YIMBY in a blog post explaining the group’s neutral stance on Prop. 45.

Public agencies and local governments that could benefit from the building rules were also divided.

The California Municipal Utilities Association opposes the measure. But most other groups representing local governments, including the League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties, remained neutral.

Financial impacts for Prop. 45

Prop. 45 supporters argued that streamlining development would make life more affordable for Californians, but the long-term financial benefits are unclear.

An analysis by Blue Sky Consulting Group, commissioned by the California Chamber of Commerce, estimated the measure would produce $1.5 billion in savings and additional revenues for public agencies over 10 years that would reduce overall housing costs.

But the measure would initially cost local governments and public agencies more as they adjust to the measure’s rules, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, a nonpartisan adviser to the Legislature.

Democrats have done well in recent elections when they win young voters by a margin of at least 20 points. On Tuesday, they carried Gen Z — those under 30 — by nearly 50 points, according to exit polling.

It's a stunning shift from 2024, when the party lost critical ground with young people. Long seen as a part of the Democratic base, voters under 30 shifted right towards Donald Trump, motivated by his pledge to better their economic prospects.

But this week, the youngest generation of voters issued a strong rebuke of Republicans, taking another chance on Democrats and their change-focused message at a moment when many of them feel as though the American Dream is out of reach.

How young voters powered Democrats to victory 

Americans ages 18-29 have a history of turning out at lower rates than older voters, and this year was no exception. Gen Z made up 11% of the total vote on Tuesday.

However, where young Americans may have made the greatest difference is on the margins in House and Senate races where Democrats flipped seats.

The Texas Senate race is a key example. Democrat James Talarico won the state by 12 percentage points; however, when looking at just Gen Z, he won it by 60 points.

Explaining the massive shift from 2024

When assessing gains more broadly, Democrats argue the party's strong slate of candidates helped drum up increased enthusiasm.

But another motivating factor remains strong opposition to Trump. Throughout his second term, Gen Z increasingly soured on the president, with some arguing he failed to make good on a number of core campaign promises — from pledging to lower prices and repeatedly vowing "no new wars," to calling for a crackdown on federal corruption and the release of the Epstein files.

Much of that disappointment was reflected in exit polling. Economic issues were the top concern for a plurality of 18- to 29-year-olds, at 43%, and these voters expressed broad frustrations with Trump's handling of the issue. More than eight in 10 said that Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions, with similar shares opposing his tariff strategy and the decision to go to war with Iran.

The young voters Trump lost

Early analysis from CIRCLE indicates that 15% of young people who backed Trump in 2024 voted for a Democratic House candidate in this year's midterms.

Democrats made gains with some young voters who backed Trump two years ago, including white men and Latino men, two blocs that narrowly voted Republican in 2024 and then voted blue on Tuesday by double digits. Democratic candidates also narrowed the margins with young rural voters and people without college degrees.  

Some of those gains may have been helped by young Trump voters who chose to sit this election out, but it's unclear how many of them there were.

How the election results broke down by age

The midterm results underscore how neither of the two major parties owns Gen Z, according to John Della Volpe, a left-leaning pollster who's extensively studied the politics of young Americans.

"The cohort of younger people in this cycle had a different set of experiences than the cohort of people two years ago, or four years before that," he said. "Every candidate, every party has to earn their votes."

Della Volpe, who runs the Harvard Youth Poll, notes that in the latest survey, released in October, there was a sizable enthusiasm gap between young Democrat and young Republican respondents. While half of Democrats said they definitely planned to vote, just a third of Republicans and less than a quarter of Independents said the same.

"I also think we shouldn't overread what's happened," he added. "Clearly a significant historic rebuke on the party in office — that's obvious — however, I think we need to more fully, kind of understand, the contour of the electorate, who showed up and who didn't show up."

By 2028, Gen Z and millennial voters will make up more than half of the electorate, a demographic shift with huge implications for Democrats and the GOP.

"Young adults can make a difference," said Elizabeth Matto, who serves as the director of the Center for Youth Political Participation at Rutgers University.

"They do care about politics. They can sway the outcome of elections. And they're a voting bloc worth paying attention to."
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