As Democrats win big, thirst traps of male candidates take social media by storm
If you're on social media, there's a good chance you've seen the videos: people getting hot and bothered about the young men Democrats just elected.
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Democrats → win → men
"I'm looking at you, Rob Sand.
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I → look → you
I'm looking at you, Jon Ossoff.
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I → look → you
I'm looking at you, El-Sayed," said fitness coach Jesse Barton, reacting to the midterm results.
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Barton → look → results
"I am looking, I am not the only one, and
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I → look → ?
I'm very happy about what I see.
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I → see → what
One of the most viral pieces of content was a parody Tiger Beat magazine cover featuring Democratic men … which Manoushka Guerrier, an LA-based chef and content-creator, took one step further.
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Guerrier → feature → which
"I created the entire Tiger Beat style personality quiz, complete with the different boy band personas," she said.
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she → create → personas
The quiz gives people matches including "the Babyface" (Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico) and "the Heartthrob" (Colorado Rep.-elect Manny Rutinel).
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quiz → give → Babyface
Guerrier pays a lot of attention to politics, and she emphasizes that these guys' looks are just a bonus.
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looks → pay → politics
"They're young and they're ballsy and they're smart, and they're not just smart; they're brilliant," she says.
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she → say → ?
The tidal wave of attention on these young men creates a striking contrast to the first Trump midterm, in 2018.
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wave → create → 2018
That election — after the Women's March, Me Too and the long list of assault and misconduct allegations against President Trump — yielded a record-setting wave of Democratic women.
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election → yield → women
It all suggests that the thirsty social media posts aren't just a cheeky trend; they also say a lot about how Democrats have responded to the Trump era.
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Democrats → suggest → era
A response to Trump
Two main forces are behind the wave of attention on these men according to Christina Wolbrecht, a political science professor at Notre Dame University.
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forces → accord → University
"I think it's a function of our kind of society-wide debate about masculinity," she said.
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she → think → masculinity
"And I also think it's about age."
The age side is straightforward — just ahead of the midterms, a majority of likely voters said they favored candidates with new ideas over those with experience in the job, according to a NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll.
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they → think → Poll
The masculinity side, meanwhile, is in response to MAGA and its elevation of a very specific type of manhood, Wolbrecht said.
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Wolbrecht → say → manhood
"For 10-plus years, Donald Trump has presented one very distinct version of masculinity," she said.
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she → present → masculinity
Manliness took center stage on the Democratic side this election.
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Manliness → take → side
Candidates leaned into it, with people like Rutinel and Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El Sayed posting weightlifting videos.
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people → lean → videos
El Sayed at one point did a video spoofing Love Island.
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Sayed → do → Island
Voters noticed, posting admiring videos well before the election.
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Voters → notice → election
Meanwhile, the media noticed and amplified this narrative, with profiles and think pieces throughout the midterm cycle, and reporting on Democrats' "rugged" and "authentic" candidates.
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media → notice → candidates
Amplifying young, "manly" men may have boosted the party in this election.
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men → amplify → election
That's because Democrats had a problem after Kamala Harris lost the presidency in 2024, according to Democratic strategist Monica Venske.
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Harris → have → Venske
"The feeling within the straight male demographic, if you will, [was] that it just wasn't cool to be a Democrat," she said.
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she → say → demographic
That's why she started the Instagram account Boyfriends We Deserve, where she highlights attractive Democrats — mostly men, but a few women as well.
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she → start → Democrats
Venske explains she is careful in how she posts about women's looks — unlike when she talks about men, like Montana's incoming Democratic congressman.
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she → explain → congressman
"Like when I call Sam Forstag hot, it will most likely never, ever hurt him," she said.
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she → call → him
"But I can call someone like Keisha Lance Bottoms hot and that could hurt her every time."
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that → call → her
She said she instead will call the women "baddies" or focus on their hair, as opposed to highlighting their bodies or overall looks.
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she → say → bodies
To Venske, the Boyfriends We Deserve posts are part of making it clear that the Democratic party is a big tent that includes young men.
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that → deserve → men
"I'm like, 'Look at all these manly guys who are Democrats,'" she said.
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she → look → guys
"Sam Forstag is an example I usually give.
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I → give → ?
And in his announcement video for Congress, he's fixing up a truck.
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he → fix → truck
If a guy who is jumping out of planes to put out fires and fixing up trucks can be a Democrat, you can be a Democrat, I promise."
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I → jump → trucks
…But Democratic women won, too
All of that said, plenty of Democratic women ran and won this year, including several historic firsts: Georgia's Keisha Lance Bottoms, for example, will be the first Black woman governor.
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Bottoms → win → example
That highlights a big difference between this midterm and 2018's wave of women.
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That → highlight → women
Since that election, Democrats have seen Joe Biden defeat Trump, and then watched a second woman lose the presidency to Trump.
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woman → see → Trump
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
