Youth Disillusionment and the Changing Face of Local Political Rallies

Opinion Piece:

A “No Kings” rally took place in Union Gap yesterday held by Yakima Indivisible, a local chapter of the larger Indivisible movement. The movement is dedicated to protecting voter rights, defending institutional norms, promoting civil discourse , and upholding a commitment to non-violence.

The rally lasted two hours and drew a crowd of 500. While that number might sound fairly large, it actually pales in comparison to earlier No Kings Days marches in Yakima in 2025 that brought more than 2,000 participants!

The Crumbling Two Party System

While many conservatives might point to that as a sign of Trump’s growing popularity before the midterms, I as a conservative would have to disagree. This era in political history remains unique because disillusionment with both major political parties are at all-time highs.

A New York Times/ Siena poll in May found 43% of voters were dissatisfied with both political parties, 26% were satisfied with democrats only, and 33% were satisfied with republicans only. However, the dissatisfaction with both parties is heavily concentrated among the youth with a whopping 66% of voters under 30 completely dissatisfied with both major parties.

13% of voters under 30 are happy with the Republican Party and 23% of voters under 30 are happy with the Democratic Party. This statistic becomes even more shocking when compared to older voters. For those above 65, only 13% are completely dissatisfied with both major parties with 84% of older republicans state the GOP represents their views well, and 89% of older democrats say the Democratic Party represents their views well!

Sean Rayford, Getty Images

Status Quo Vs. Radicalism

This demographic was on full display at the No Kings march. In an ocean of gray heads, younger demonstrators stuck out like sore thumbs. The event looked like it came right out of the 1960s. Folk songs were sung, poetry was read, and the crowd took part in community chants.

While many conservatives have the instinct to label this community as “radicals”, it’s actually quite the opposite. Some of the protester’s stated aims were to get out vote turnout for democrats to oppose executive overreach, oppose ICE, defend institutional norms, and stop cuts to federal healthcare programs.

Sounds more like preserving a tired decades old status-quo than overthrowing the system! Trump's 2024 victory was driven by youth voters hoping that massive government waste would be overhauled, traditional globalist foreign policy dismantled, and corruption be rooted out. Now, these voters feel alienated by the covering up of Epstein files, war in Iran, and the premature dismantling of DOGE. Similarly to the left of the youth, the Democratic Party is too focused on upholding norms, forging global alliances, and covering up corruption.

While a mobilized Democratic party will most definitely take the House of Representatives from dejected Republicans in this year’s midterms, both parties are in massive trouble with their younger cohorts.

Young Republicans and Democrats with all their differences both want radical institutional change, a focus on domestic politics over foreign affairs, and more emphasis on ideology than partisanship!

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The parties will now not only be fighting each other but fighting themselves on whether to pursue moderation and uphold a toxic status quo or take a risk of delving into the Wild West of destruction of consensual norms. You think the last ten years have been tense? Wait for the next ten!