Contact Us

Young Men · Messaging · Voting

Seen, Not Spoken To - A Narrative Report on Young Men, The New Swing Voters

July 21, 2026 · HIT Strategies

Drawing on more than a dozen HIT Strategies research projects conducted since 2024, Seen, Not Spoken To challenges the conventional narrative about young men and American politics. Rather than finding that young men have shifted sharply to the right, the report shows they remain highly persuadable and represent the country's newest swing voters. The research finds that Democrats' challenges with young men stem less from policy disagreements than from perceptions of authenticity, relatability, and trust. The report offers practical recommendations for engaging young men across communities by addressing their lived experiences, communicating through trusted platforms, and connecting progressive policies to the economic and social realities they face.

← Back to Research

More

Related research

  • AAPI

    Indian American Impact: Nine in Ten South Asian Americans Have Faced Discrimination — and They're Fighting Back at the Ballot Box

    October 26, 2026

    This report, produced by HIT Strategies in partnership with Indian American Impact, highlights findings from a September 2026 survey of 800 South Asian American registered voters nationwide. The findings show that while these voters believe strongly in the power of their vote, most doubt elected officials are listening. Cost of living and healthcare are driving their midterm choices, and Democrats hold a wide lead with a meaningful share of Independents still undecided. Nine in ten have faced discrimination or know someone who has, and rising hostility toward their community is shaping how many plan to vote this November.

  • LGBTQ+

    Transgender Freedom Alliance: Messaging on Transgender Issues in the 2026 Election Cycle

    October 22, 2026 · HIT Strategies

    This memo, produced by Global Strategy Group, HIT Strategies, and Equis Research in partnership with Transgender Freedom Alliance, draws on March 2026 focus groups with House battleground swing voters, including Hispanic voters, Black men, and white women, and an April–May 2026 survey of 1,010 likely voters in battleground congressional districts, with oversamples among Black and Hispanic voters, alongside ad testing. The findings show that Democrats lose ground when they stay silent on anti-transgender attacks but gain when they go on offense, especially by framing Republicans’ fixation and spending on transgender issues as coming at the expense of cost of living, and by broadening child safety conversations to focus on protecting all kids from sexual predators.

  • Black Voters

    Climate Equity Action Fund: Black and Latino Voters in Battleground States

    October 22, 2026 · HIT Strategies

    This report, produced by HIT Strategies in partnership with The Climate Equity Action Fund, highlights findings from a September–October 2026 survey of 2,003 Black and Latino registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The findings show that while cost of living dominates voters’ priorities heading into the midterms, strong majorities want candidates to prioritize lowering energy costs, reducing air and water pollution, and addressing climate change, with the most motivating messages tying climate to everyday needs like safe food, water, and air, and calling out politicians and corporations that put profit over people’s health.