One of the biggest quandaries for the Democratic Party following the 2024 election is how to win back male voters. Some of the biggest Rightward shifts last year came from men — specifically, young and minority men. The Democrats seem to be aware of their problem, but it’s less clear that they have a clue on what to do about it.

Last weekend, the New York Times reported on efforts by party strategists to address their male problem: “The prospectus for one new $20 million effort, obtained by The Times, aims to reverse the erosion of Democratic support among young men, especially online,” it reported. “It is code-named SAM — short for ‘Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan’ — and promises investment to ‘study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.’ It recommends buying advertisements in video games, among other things.”

But these ideas demonstrate just how little the party understands the roots of their problems as well as the demographic they’re trying to reach.

Take podcasting. Some figures affiliated with the party have pointed to the effect that the “manosphere” has had on young men — including prominent podcast hosts like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Lex Fridman, and Andrew Schulz — and argue that Democrats need their own versions of these men. They have begun encouraging party donors to open their chequebooks to build up a competing infrastructure on the Left designed to lure young men over to their side.

Yet many on the Left seem to (wrongly) believe not only that Rogan, Von, and others are conservative but also that their young, male listeners seek them out for their political opinions. In reality, these podcasts talk about a host of non-political topics, which is likely what attracts much of their audience. Insofar as they’re “political,” they tend to be anti-establishment rather than partisan. Consider, for example, that during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Rogan interviewed Andrew Yang and later endorsed Bernie Sanders — both of whom weren’t closely tied to the party and were also favoured among young men.

The reality is that many male voters aren’t all that interested in traditional politics and aren’t likely to be swayed by Democrats treating them as just another identity-based group in need of special attention. As former Democratic staffer Rotimi Adeoye remarked, “Democratic donors treating men like an endangered species on a remote island they need to study probably won’t rebuild trust.” Moreover, he added, “People don’t want to be decoded, they want to be understood and met where they are.”

Young people are quick to sense inauthenticity. If the Democrats think they merely need to alter their messaging and prop up partisan outlets designed to attract these voters, they risk producing the real-life version of the “how do you do, fellow kids” meme. Rather than trying to engineer a finely tuned political message, they would be wise to show up in these young men’s communities and listen to their concerns. It may not win their support back overnight, but it’s perhaps the best place to start.

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Michael Baharaeen is chief political analyst at The Liberal Patriot substack.

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