Though there is a widening gender gap between young men and women, Generation Z represents a political horseshoe. Regardless of whether they identify with the Left or Right, members of Gen Z are open to an expansionist executive branch if it means expedient assistance. They don’t want to wait for laissez-faire policies to yield incrementally better economic mobility and security. They want it now. When young people vote today, they’re making a gamble for which candidate will deliver immediate relief.

It struck some as odd that President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit it off during their meeting at the Oval Office last month. But to more pessimistic political observers, it made perfect sense. Like Mamdani, Trump is a populist who considers a paternalistic government a possible solution to political problems, though Mamdani supports much more drastic intervention bordering on statism. They both garnered a large share of the Gen Z vote in their respective elections.