Gen Z announces itself in midterms with Democratic boost, historic wins

Among other motivators at the polls, “the threats against our democracy are ones that young people really have a stake in, because this is the country that we’re soon going to be inheriting, and it’s in deep trouble,” said 25-year-old Joe Vogel, a Democrat who won a state delegate seat for Maryland’s 17th District. Vogel proudly identifies as a gay, Latino, Jewish immigrant. His campaign was also centered on ending gun violence, as well as addressing climate change and other problems that affected young people in Annapolis, such as being priced out of housing or the lack of transportation options. He didn’t accept money from corporate donors, he said, because he didn’t want people to worry that he cared more about corporate interests than those of his constituents. It made some voters more inclined to donate to his campaign, he said. “We won this campaign because we stayed focused on what really mattered, which was listening to people and really connecting with people,” Vogel said. Samantha Chery, Washington Post