On a sunny, blustery Monday leading up to the Nov. 3 general election, thousands converged on Park City, about 10 miles north of Wichita, for a rally featuring President Donald Trump.
As is often the case in American politics, most participants were older — one protester proudly said his first vote was for the “get-the-hell-out-of-Vietnam party.” But among the sea of red, white and blue shirts and gray hair were hundreds of young Kansans.
Some arrived at the arena hours before doors opened. Some were drawn to the “free speech zone,” greeting attendees with signs, bullhorns, trombones and guitars. Over several hours, the scenes served as a reminder that no group is a monolith — not Kansans, not Republicans, not Democrats, and certainly not Gen Z.
For this story, The Journal is choosing to use first names only for some of the young people we spoke with because they made that request. Several were concerned that publishing their full names could subject them to backlash in their personal or professional lives because of the highly partisan nature of the political rallies.
Among the youngest at the rally were Kai, 17, and Miriam, 18. The Wichita teens came to protest the Trump administration after school. Both aspire to become teachers and said they came to protest violence, including sexual assault and school shootings.
“I work as a camp counselor,” said Kai, who uses they/them pronouns. “I want to work with kindergarteners. I hate being in a room with kids and thinking about what I would do if someone started shooting.”
Although Kai is not old enough to cast a ballot, they said it was important to advocate for their community.
Miriam (second from right) was one of several young protesters in the free speech zone ahead of a Republican rally in Park City, Kansas. Credit: Jessica Pearce
“I want to have a future in America,” Kai said. “Even if I’m not old enough to vote yet, it’s important for people to know that young people also have opinions.”
The country’s youngest voters are often its most infrequent voters. In Kansas, just 53% of registered voters between 18 and 34 turned out to vote in the 2024 election. The statewide turnout rate was 70%.
Aside from the Park City rally, The Journal spoke with teens and young adults across Kansas, including Democrats, Republicans and independents, to understand what is mobilizing them in this election cycle and how they use their voices.
‘The party is over, and hard times have come.’Many of them named the economy as their primary concern. Andrew, a University of Kansas student from Ellsworth, said he and his friends are disillusioned with the opportunity to succeed, something previous generations enjoyed.
“None of us have seen the spoils of this system our parents have championed so much,” he said. “I think everyone around us can feel that. The party is over, and hard times have come.”
That concern crossed party lines. Kaegan Lowen, a 21-year-old Republican who attended the Trump rally, also identified the cost of living as a top issue. Mason Mohn, a 29-year-old Democrat from Emporia, said he hoped the midterms would bring lower costs, particularly gas prices.
Credit: Jessica Pearce
“Everyone’s struggling,” Mohn said. “When you see people like Trump profiting off the American people and not really serving us … that’s really upsetting.”
The cost of living affects young Kansans differently. Eryanna Myers, a 22-year-old dance teacher and registered Libertarian, said maintaining access to healthcare and insurance has become a major concern. Myers said she lives with a chronic illness and relies on health insurance. She said she worries about how much her insurance will cover, and was alarmed by recent cuts to Medicaid.
“It’s important to me that it’s accessible to everyone who needs it,” she said.
Other young people pointed to concerns about civil rights, immigration enforcement and personal safety as reasons to get involved. Yasuhiro, 21, of Hutchinson, described himself as politically neutral, but said he objected to Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions under the Trump administration.
“Falsely imprisoning people just for the color of their skin or for their background is crazy,” he said.
Recent ICE operations in southwest Kansas prompted some young adults to become more politically active, according to community organizers. Lizette Avalos, a professor of communication and leadership at Seward County Community College in Liberal, said she has seen significantly more engagement from her students in recent weeks.
“Seeing these injustices in our community prompted many young adults to speak up, even if they were previously unsure how to get involved,” Avalos said. “While it is unfortunate that direct impact is sometimes required to spur action, it is encouraging to see increased engagement emerging from such a difficult situation.”
However, the top issues of the day — the economy, frustration with ICE and concerns about data centers — have made some young people more reluctant to get involved.
Levi, a 27-year-old Democrat from Wichita, said he was frustrated that some important issues have been crowded out by more immediate concerns.
“I’d love to be voting on the environment only,” he said. “But when people are supporting genocides or cozying up to extremist groups, the environment sinks down. … I wish that wasn’t the case, and I wish I could be voting on other things.”
‘It doesn’t cost anything to say, ‘Your voice matters.’’Kelm Lear, 23, was elected chair of the Riley County Democratic Party when he was 21. Over the course of his time as a student at Kansas State University and his two years as county chair, Lear said much of his focus has been on registering and encouraging young voters.
Lear said much of his work as a party leader has been to make politics more accessible to young people, and to demystify what it takes to mobilize them.
“I think a lot of folks think of the younger up-and-coming generation as like an alien species,” Lear said. “But you can just talk to us like normal people. … (We can) make politics accessible, bring it to places where young people are and not treat them like the generation that can only be reached via social media.”
His efforts have drawn success, including record fundraising, high turnout rates and a series of successful voter registration drives. But simply registering, he said, does not translate to actual civic engagement.
“What comes next is what we’re not telling people,” Lear said. “What does it mean to be an active participant in democracy? What are the requirements for registering to vote, and what does the electoral calendar look like, and what does it mean to vote in a primary versus a general? It’s hard to relay that to people.”
Lear said a lack of knowledge was only one of the barriers to getting young adults to the polls. He said students are often crunched for time to research issues and feel that, as temporary residents of Riley County, they don’t need to vote in local elections. Equally challenging, he said, is a sense of apathy among many of the young voters he’s spoken with.
“(They) don’t want to vote because they think both parties are failing them, and that it doesn’t matter who wins — their life isn’t going to get better no matter what,” Lear said. “Even though I am a chair of a Democratic county party, I can certainly relate to that.”
To overcome those barriers, Lear said he tells young voters the same thing his parents and grandparents told him as a child.
“My parents invested in me; my grandparents invested in me,” he said. “It doesn’t cost anything to say, ‘Your voice matters, and when you turn 18, I hope you’ll be a registered voter and that you will participate in the democratic process because it can’t work as well without you.’”
Many of the most civically active young Kansans who were interviewed credited their parents and communities for instilling that obligation. Mercy Kelton, a 22-year-old Republican, said she had been involved in civic life since childhood.
“I’ve always done stuff with other Republicans since I was about eight, and the older people were always welcoming and encouraging to me,” she said.
Now a fourth-grade history and science teacher, Kelton said she models civic participation for her students by inviting local speakers to discuss what it means to be American and how to be an active citizen.
Mercy Kelton, a 22-year-old Republican, stressed the value of promoting active citizenship to younger generations. Credit: Jessica Pearce
In her free time, she volunteers as an election clerk and stays active in her community. But she said that isn’t true for many other young people she knows.
“I think there’s been a change in the definition of ‘citizenship’ and what it means to be involved,” she said. “I think people aren’t as proud of their country as they used to be.”
Opportunities to participate can also depend on whether young people have organizations where they feel welcome. Kenneth Woodward, president of the Young Democrats chapter at the University of Kansas, said the changing landscape of conservative groups on campus has made it harder to organize bipartisan events and bring students with different political views together.
Woodward said the Young Republicans organization had largely withered by the time he was in college, while groups such as Young Americans for Freedom and Turning Point USA became more prominent among conservative students.
“There’s definitely been a good bit of separation between the liberal and conservative sides of the student body,” Woodward said. “From my interactions with some of the conservative students, they don’t want to interact with Turning Point, but they also don’t want to deal with us.”
Credit: Jessica Pearce
Woodward said the decline of the Young Republicans also limited opportunities for all students to learn about candidates, discuss political issues and build relationships across party lines.
“The simple thing is that democracies don’t work when only one party has representation,” he said. “It’s hard for us to turn down that heat when we don’t have another side to work with. … It’s hard to build that bipartisan interaction.”
‘It’s important because it affects us the most.’Several others shared Woodward’s desire to “turn down the heat.”
Lear said he has made a point of building a relationship with his Republican counterpart. The two often see each other at community events and make a point to talk about their lives outside politics. When the Democratic and Republican parties were tabling at the Riley County Fair, Lear ended up talking with members of the GOP for nearly an hour.
“Not once did politics come up,” Lear said. “We just related on things like food preferences, traveling, and we cracked a few jokes.”
Lear said he believes ordinary Americans are less divided than political leaders and public perceptions might suggest. People often conflate their feelings about political parties with their feelings about the people who belong to them, he said. He pointed to a survey his mother had taken that asked a question about her feelings toward members of the other party.
“Most Americans think of the (party leaders), but the question was about average folk,” Lear said. “When you see those polling results that say Democrats absolutely hate Republicans, and then vice versa, it drives this polarization narrative. … I do not think my Republican grandparents are horrible, crazy people dragging this nation into the ground — I absolutely love them and appreciate them.”
Yasuhiro, of Hutchinson, expressed a similar desire for people to see one another as more than their political affiliations. He had joined his sister in the free speech zone at the rally, but said he hoped people would recognize that some of those attended because they care about their country, even if they disagree about specific political issues.
“I think both sides should see each other as human and not as an enemy,” he said. “It seems like everyone here is screaming about something, but is it anything?”
Credit: Selena Rivas Favela
But the ability to see political opponents as fellow Kansans doesn’t mean young voters are satisfied with the political system. Myers, the Wichitan dance teacher, said she and her friends were frustrated with a lack of responsiveness from the state’s leaders.
“What’s going on here is unacceptable,” she said. “We need to be heard more.”
Kelm said he had his own frustrations with his party and the policies its leaders choose to pursue or ignore. However, he said he views those grievances as a reason to stay involved.
“That’s why it’s important for people like me to continue showing up,” he said. “If you want anything to get better, you’ve got to find a way to be involved. Even if you can’t go out and knock on doors, you can hold a conversation with your friends and family.”
Levi, the 27-year-old from Wichita, said he had a “pretty bleak” outlook on the political landscape and was disappointed in the limited choices among the candidates and parties. Despite that, he said he would still vote.
“I don’t have the financial capital to make my money matter,” he said, referring to a system awash in special interest donations. “I’ve got to vote, because that’s the only option I have to make my voice heard.”
Mohn, the 29-year-old from Emporia, said young people have a personal stake in the outcome of elections.
“It’s important because it affects us the most,” Mohn said. “We’re the ones who have to live with these decisions the longest. It’s important to set ourselves and our future generations up for success.”
Jessica Pearce is a Report for America corps member and covers civics in Kansas for The Journal.
This story previously appeared on The Journal.
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