Exclusive: Major youth voting group backs 3 progressive Black candidates ahead of Election Day
TheGrio...
Voters of Tomorrow is endorsing Angie Nixon, Justin Pearson and Donavan McKinney as nearly 50 million Gen Z voters become eligible in 2026.
Voters of Tomorrow, one of the nation’s largest youth political advocacy groups, has endorsed a slate of progressive Black candidates in the final weeks before Election Day, theGrio exclusively reports.
The organization, founded in 2019, is backing Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Florida; Justin J. Pearson, the Democratic nominee for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District; and Donavan McKinney, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
“Our slate of endorsements this year features leaders who are going to be champions for the working class and all young Americans, leaders who aren’t afraid to stand up to billionaires and corporate interests who are putting our people and planet in harms way,” said Santiago Mayer, founder and executive director of Voters of Tomorrow, in statement provided to theGrio. “Young voters are excited to turn out in droves to finally elect these candidates who share their values. That momentum is what’s going to enable us to take back our government and make sure that it works for all people.”
The youth vote in U.S. elections has fluctuated over years, most recently seeing a decline in the 2024 presidential election. While young voters still backed former Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump, Harris saw a decline in support compared to President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump in 2020. The youth vote’s rightward tilt has resulted in Voters of Tomorrow driving up engagement with young voters, including a $1 million commitment to driving them to the polls, particularly in swing states.
The group says this cycle they’ve made a quarter million direct voter contacts to young voters, and got thousands of young voters pre-registered, registered, or checked their voter registration.
“Nearly 50 million members of Gen Z are eligible to vote in 2026. Right now we have the numbers, we have the energy, and we have a generation that has shown again and again that we are willing to fight for the future we believe in,” Kaya Jones, senior director of programming at Voters of Tomorrow, told theGrio.
“Seeing leaders whose stories, communities, and lived experiences reflect our own shows young people that they belong in every room where decisions are being made is crucial,” Jones added. “That’s why were so proud to support Black candidates like Justin Pearson, Donovan McKinney, and Angie Nixon who have shown millions of young people of color we don’t need to wait our turn — the time for us to lead is now.”
Pearson, a 32-year-old Tennessee state representative who would be one of the youngest members of Congress if elected on Nov. 3, said he is “grateful” for Voters of Tomorrow’s endorsement. He told theGrio, “Together, we will work to mobilize young voters to bring home the victory in November and fight for higher wages, lower prices and health care for all in Congress.”
Pearson recently joined Voters of Tomorrow’s summer summit in North Carolina where he and hundreds of young people discussed strategies for combatting attacks on democracy and voting rights. The summit also provided training for young organizers and strategies for engaging more young people online, including first-time voters.
Progressive candidates, like Pearson, Nixon and McKinney, have seen momentum in primary races across the country as the cost of living—including housing, health care, gas and groceries—has emerged as a major liability for Republicans, who, along with President Trump, have a trifecta in power within the federal government. The Democratic candidates have also tied the affordability issue to broader themes of political corruption benefiting America’s wealthy class and corporations.
McKinney, 34, said he is “thrilled” to stand with Voters of Tomorrow, telling theGrio, “We are rallying the next generation to win in November and take the fight to Congress for healthcare for all, pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and End Citizens United.”
Nixon, whose national profile has been rising amid personal attacks from conservatives, including Vice President JD Vance, told theGrio, “Floridians deserve new leadership in the Senate that works every day on practical solutions to lower costs, fight corruption and deliver real results for working people.”
She added, “Like every generation, young people deserve a senator who fights for better opportunities and partners with them to build a future they can actually afford to live in.”
Democrats and advocates have taken aim at the Trump administration and Republicans’ efforts to restrict voting access, from redrawing maps to eliminate Black and brown voting districts following the Supreme Court’s gutting of the Voting Rights Act, to trying to implement restrictions on mail-in voting and pass the SAVE Act, which would require documentation proving U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote. Experts warn voter ID laws disproportionately burden young voters, as well as Black and brown voters, women and people with disabilities.
“Voting is a right that generations before us fought to secure, and exercising that right allows us to carry on the legacy of people who believed deeply in what this country could become,” said Kaya Jones of Voters of Tomorrow. She added, “That lineage, from generations who fought for access, to young people using their voices today is what makes this moment so meaningful. If our votes weren’t so powerful, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep us from the ballot box.”
“Floridians deserve new leadership in the Senate that works every day on practical solutions to lower costs, fight corruption and deliver real results for working people. Like every generation, young people deserve a senator who fights for better opportunities and partners with them to build a future they can actually afford to live in.”