Brett Cooper says young voters feel alienated by Democrats as poll numbers sink

Alarming new polling for the Democratic Party suggests it is losing ground among young voters, a demographic that has traditionally leaned blue.

Brett Cooper, host of “The Brett Cooper Show,” says many in her generation feel alienated by a party that no longer reflects their values or energy.

“Democrats are completely out of touch with their voter base,” Cooper said on “Fox & Friends.” “They are aging out. We do not want them in Congress anymore on the left and the right.”

Her comments come as 80-year-old Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election in 2026. Durbin, who was first elected in 1996, has long been seen as a pillar of the party establishment.

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“You see members of Congress like Dick [Durbin] who are so old,” Cooper added. “Young people feel unrepresented, and they are fed up.”

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Monday, August 19, 2024.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

A new poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics shows approval of congressional Democrats among young Americans has dropped to 23%, down from 42% in early 2017. Approval for congressional Republicans stands at 29%, slightly improved from previous years. President Donald Trump’s approval rating among 18-29-year-olds is at 31%, virtually unchanged from the beginning of his first term.

Cooper argues the dissatisfaction among young voters is widespread, cutting across ideological lines in the Democratic Party.

“If they don’t like Donald Trump, then they’re angry that their representatives are not pushing back enough. If they are more common sense in the center, they’re angry with how radical they’ve gotten. They just feel completely left alone,” she said.

Despite criticism of younger progressive leaders like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cooper acknowledges they still draw passionate support from new voters.

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“I think that they are going to have to change course. We will see if that works,” she said. “We’ll see if AOC resonates with as many people as they’re hoping.”

Democratic lawmakers have recently turned to social media to voice outrage over issues like mass deportation under the Trump administration, a tactic used in past elections to mobilize younger voters. But Cooper says that strategy may be losing its effectiveness.

“It is obviously an emotional issue, and they know that in order to reach Gen Z, I mean, historically, in the past, it has been through emotion, which is why you’re seeing these selfie videos, these rallying cries.“

But she believes today’s young voters want more than just performative engagement online.

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“The tactics that they have been able to use in the past to reach my generation, through social media, using big, broad, emotionally charged language, that might not work,” Cooper said. 

“They need to listen to their voters for once and actually see how they’re responding.”