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The Lafayette Company releases the Young American Men Survey 2026: 800 young American men, registered voters aged 18 to 30, surveyed six weeks before the midterms. It covers how they intend to vote, whether they feel their lives are on track, what they think is expected of them, and who they turn to when something goes wrong. Fielded by Cygnal.

Alex Tarascio, a principal at Cygnal, welcomes young men on stage for a live conversation about the issues facing Gen-Z, their priorities and how they want lawmakers and policymakers to address both. Their unfiltered perspectives will bring the morning's polling release to life and preview the themes the rest of the program will explore.

As the 11th U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos championed educational freedom. From expanding innovative options and transparency in higher education to reforming Title IX and championing school choice policies, DeVos truly was, and continues to be, one of the most transformative figures in American education. This spotlight session will draw on that experience to examine what the next wave of reform should deliver for young American men.

Young men are lonelier and less connected to institutions than at any point in modern memory, and fewer of them have an older man in their lives to learn from. Fraternities and other men’s organizations were built to solve exactly that problem, putting young men in sustained relationships with peers and with men further along than they are, under real expectations and real accountability. This conversation examines what single-sex organizations actually do for the men inside them — the mentorship, the structure, the skills men carry into work and family — and how these spaces can be strengthened and extended to more young men.

Men are a shrinking share of college applicants, enrollees, and graduates, and those who do enroll cluster in a narrowing set of majors, even as fields like teaching and health care go understaffed. Cost, campus culture, and alternative paths are all cited as causes, and the result is a generation of young men without the credential most closely tied to economic mobility. Panelists will discuss the levers available to institutions, states, and federal policymakers: recruiting young men back, rebuilding the pipeline into underrepresented fields, and fostering the campus communities that keep them enrolled through graduation.

What are “luxury beliefs”? Where do elites and academics get it wrong? Where should policy for young men go in the future? Rob Henderson’s experience, from growing up in foster homes to graduating from the University of Cambridge with a Ph.D. in psychology, guides this conversation.

The crisis young men face requires out-of-the-box ideas, so we’ve invited some of the boldest voices in the public sphere for a rapid exchange on the most contested issues. Expect real, honest disagreement and unvarnished opinions. And audience members? Come with your most pointed questions.

Close out Day One with one of America’s favorite pastimes: a tailgate. Join speakers, sponsors, and fellow attendees for food, drinks, and thoughtful conversation (over cornhole).

Fraternities, mentoring programs, and other spaces built for men have long helped young men find friendship, direction, and purpose. Today many of these institutions are shrinking or under pressure, and after the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, colleges and organizations are unsure what they can lawfully offer young men. This panel brings together a lawmaker, a civil rights attorney, and a leading fraternity lawyer to examine what the law allows, where it is unsettled, and how to build programs that serve young men alongside the programs already serving women.

Civic and fraternal organizations that once anchored American communities have been losing members for decades, and young men have drifted away faster than almost anyone. The Knights of Columbus has bucked that trend. Founded to serve immigrant families who were shut out of much of American life, the Knights have spent nearly 150 years building brotherhood around faith, family, and service. Joseph McInerney, Chief Strategy Advisor at the Knights of Columbus, joins Christine Rousselle of The Catholic Herald to discuss what the Knights are doing right and what other organizations and policymakers can learn from them about reaching the next generation of men.

Young men face rising rates of loneliness, depression, and suicide, and they seek guidance far less often than their female peers. Stigma, a shortage of male-oriented services, and a mental health workforce that skews female all contribute to the gap. Panelists will discuss policy responses that make it easier to reach young men.

Last year’s Cygnal poll found that over 50% of young men report spending five or more hours a day online, much of it inside gaming, pornography, and social media platforms designed to hold attention indefinitely. The effects on real-world social ties are increasingly concerning. Panelists will examine the regulatory and legislative questions now facing lawmakers and the responsibility of companies operating in the attention economy.

Recent trends of men in the workforce, including job growth concentrated in female-dominated fields and the long-term decline of male labor force participation, paint a bleak picture for young men, even as employers report shortages in the skilled trades and other well-paying fields. The disconnect points to a mismatch between how young men are being trained and where the opportunities are. Panelists will discuss how workforce policy, apprenticeship programs, and secondary education reform, among other things, can help young men build durable careers.

Fewer young Americans are marrying or starting families, and the consequences reach two generations. For young men, marriage is tied to better work, health, and happiness. For children, being raised by married parents is one of the strongest predictors of stability and success, and boys without a father at home are especially likely to struggle. Dr. Brad Wilcox, one of the nation’s leading scholars of marriage and family, examines why fewer young men are marrying and what policymakers, communities, and institutions can do to make family life more attainable.

Young men shifted the electoral landscape in 2024, with an intensity catching both parties by surprise and forcing a rethink of the coalitions each side is counting on. What they respond to from candidates remains poorly understood across the political spectrum. This panel brings together nonpartisan know-how and strategists from both parties to unpack the young male vote and what it means for 2026 and beyond.