US Midterms 2026: Young voters could decide key Michigan congressional race

A rock star's reception in Lansing for a congressional candidate. Will Lawrence is hoping to take Michigan's 7th district from the Republicans. It's one of the hardest fought battles in the country over just one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. We need everybody and young people are a huge part of the coalition and could really be the difference maker on November 3rd. I'm rooted in this community. I grew up here in East Lansing. I've been spending time around campus since I was 12 years old and people know that I'm going to fight for them. Democratic canvassers are asking students to pledge their support, hammering home the importance of each and every vote in Michigan. I think a lot of people our age feel like they don't know enough about what the candidates do, what policies they support, how they're funded. At Michigan State University, the more politically engaged students listen to America's youngest congressman. But what we have to do is ban super PACs so nobody can use them. Twenty-nine-year-old Maxwell Frost is the first Gen Z politician to sit in the U.S. House of Representatives. He's come north from Florida to help Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and other Democrats. Everybody's seen the negative, bigoted ads and Islamophobic ads, but what hasn't happened is everyone hasn't spoken with a canvasser. Everyone hasn't had person-to-person conversation about why Abdul's the right senator for Michigan. but the Republicans also have a ground game of their own in Lansing bringing in hundreds of young people from all over the USA to try and secure the seat for the incumbent Tom Barrett with Abdul ElSayed also in their sights not only does he have direct connections to terrorist organizations in the Middle East he also has radical policies that are going to increase taxes on Americans the largest tax increase in history if we lose the Senate President Trump will not be able to carry out his agenda. Democrats will try to impeach him. I think there's definitely a movement that people don't realize in Gen Z that is turning more conservative, people less likely to, you know, tolerate. Both sides believe victory in Michigan could come down to just a few thousand people out of more than 7 million registered voters. Securing their support is now a 24-7 operation. Richard Gaisford, Al Jazeera, Lansing, Michigan.