For Democrats, reaching male voters has become a political need for young men to come to the election last fall, when President Donald Trump was heavily shaking.
But like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, that’s also a personal goal. Speaking about his own struggle as a teenager, the first term governor recently announced plans to lead his “whole administration” to find a way to help struggling boys and men.
“The happiness of our young men and boys was not a social priority,” Moore said in an interview. “I want Maryland to be offensive and silent about being able to deal with it and fix it.”
Moore is not the only Democrat who swears to help the boys and men.
In her state speech, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shared plans to boost young men’s registration for higher education and skills training. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced what he called the “DEI Initiative.” Announcements are at an important time. Researchers argue that widening gender gaps reflect a crisis that can drive men to extremism if not addressed. And democratic pollers are worried that the party risks losing more men to the GOP, especially if liberal politicians don’t address these issues.
“When Trump talks about economic corrections and strong things, they hear people get it,” said John Della Volpe, Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election adviser. “That doesn’t mean they trust him, but that means he’s talking to their reality in ways that most Democrats don’t.”
In the campaign trajectory, Kamala Harris often spoke about issues that are important to women, highlighting reproductive rights, for example, and family leave policy. But searching for a soul around her loss has encouraged Democrats to reach out more aggressively, for example, by engaging in sports and more engagement, and finding ways to make the party seem less “cold” to younger voters. Shauna Daly, democratic strategist and co-founder of the Young Men Research Project, said that candidates need to do more than show that they are hanging from young men. “The real shortage of Democrats in this cohort is that they don’t feel like Democrats are fighting for them,” she said.
They need policies like the ones proposed by the governor, Daly said they are working on specific issues with men.
In all states, women earn more university degrees than men. Boys are more likely to be disciplined in class, and are less likely to graduate from high school on time than girls. Men are more likely to commit suicide and die at a higher rate than women, and are more likely to become dependent on illegal drugs and alcohol. And while women are joining the workforce at an increasingly faster rate, men are steadily dropping out of the labor market.
The governor’s speech touched on many of these issues and won careful applause from masculinity researchers. Richard Reeves, founder of the American Juvenile Institute, who informally advised Moore’s staff, said: “If Democrats weren’t thinking about male voters, especially young male voters, then it would be a rather serious neglect of duty after looking at the polls.”
In the past, Democrats may have been wary of targeting the program towards boys and men, fearing to rule out girls. Whitmer appeared to be aware of this dynamic in her speech, as she followed her announcement about a young man with a vow not to abandon her screams for women and a commitment to “an equal opportunity and dignity for everyone.”
Several other states, including those run by Republican governors, have already launched initiatives targeting men in recent years. Utah said, “We established a task force aimed at helping men and boys lead thriving lives, and North Dakota created the position of men’s health coordinators, studying and recognizing the perceptions of disparities affecting men.
Moore said he was partly inspired by his own experience growing up in the Bronx after his father passed away. He described problems at a young age, including brushing with police for vandalism, skipping school and getting poor grades. “It’s very personal to me, because I was one of the young men and boys we were trying to reach,” he said. “And it felt like there weren’t many of the conversations about me were with me.”
Moore will hold a cabinet meeting in April to discuss the state agency’s plans, but he has some initial goals. Encourage more men in his state to pursue education and healthcare jobs, help boys within the juvenile justice system, and make sure to seek opinions from boys and men on how initiatives are designed.
For Della Volpe of Harvard Kennedy School, the governor’s announcement is encouraging. “The truth is, a young man is talking,” he said. “They have said they want respect, opportunities and strength. If Democrats don’t listen, they will continue to lose the ground if they don’t take action. But this moment offers hope.”
