The Democrats’ success in last week’s midterm elections across the country was attributable to dramatic shifts in every demographic group compared to 2024. The lone exception was voters over the age of 65, who voted similarly to how they voted in 2024.

Among the most significant trends favoring the Dems was the shift in young male voters ages 18-29. That group supported the Republicans in 2024 by a margin of 56-37 percent. But last week, that cohort completely flipped the script, favoring the Democrats by a margin of 59-36 percent. Overall, voters 18-29 voted for Democrats by a wide 70-28 margin.

One need not have a Ph.D. in political science to realize that “the times they are a-changin’.” The frustration and hopelessness being felt by young voters stems primarily from an economy that essentially has put attainment of the American Dream — marriage, raising a family, and buying a home — out of reach for all but the wealthy.

We recently saw two statistics that speak volumes to this discouraging reality: The first is that more young people under the age of 30 are still living with their parents than at any time in the modern era. The second is that the average age of a first-time home-buyer today is 40, compared to 28 in 1990.

For the first time in American history, the younger generation is facing the stark realization that they will not be able to attain, let alone exceed, their parents’ standard of living.

The populist movement of the modern-day Republican party over these past 10 years appealed to young people because it gave them hope that the GOP would shake up the status quo. When that promise proved to be a false idol of mere rhetoric by Republican leaders, young people turned to the Democrats last week, propelling a new generation of lawmakers to Washingtron, D.C.

However, the Democratic leadership still is mired among the O.G., especially in the Senate, where 75 year-old Chuck Schumer appears destined to take over as the Majority Leader.

Schumer has led the Senate Democrats for the past 10 years and is well-known to Americans — who overwhelmingly view him with disdain. He consistently polls as THE least popular major party figure in the country, with numbers even lower than Donald Trump or any Republican. Schumer is largely seen as an ineffectual party leader and a lacklustre (to say the least) communicator who is out of touch with today’s world.

Schumer is symptomatic of everything that is wrong with Washington. He is a politician who stays in power simply because he can, aided and abetted by fellow politicians who refuse to admit that new blood is needed to re-energize the party’s young voters.

In our view, the time has come for Democratic senators to pass the torch to a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. We urge our senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, to follow the example set by the late Ted Kennedy in 2008 when he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hilary Clinton in the 2008 primary season.

Senator Kennedy understood that our leaders must represent the times they live in. Similarly, Democrats today must find a Senate leader who will give their new Democratic voters confidence that their voices will be heard.

Say a prayer for the Ukrainians

The recent, inexplicable moves, both financially and on the battlefield, by President Donald Trump to support the genocidal regime of Vladimir Putin in his war against the people of Ukraine rates as one of the most dastardly “sell-outs” in modern history.

For reasons known only to himself, Trump has decided to throw a lifeline to Putin, whose war of aggression against Ukraine is almost five years old. In doing so, Trump has aligned the United States with all of the world’s major dictators who also have provided assistance to Putin: No. Korea, which has sent troops to Russia; Iran, which has supplied the Russians with its drones; and China, which has supplied military hardware and logistics to the Russians.

This is a sad time for freedom-loving people across the world. But it is a dangerous time for the brave people of Ukraine, who are being assaulted by Putin’s rockets on a daily basis with great loss of life.

Let us pray that the Ukrainians can make it through this winter — and that freedom and democracy can triumph over evil.