The internet has a crush on some of the candidates running for office this election season and it’s saying a lot about how Democrats and Republicans wield sexuality.
This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt with help from Ariana Aspuru, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed at a town hall event on September 3, 2026 in Waterford, Michigan. Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images.
Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: <a href="http://vox.com/members.">vox.com/members.</a> New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at <a href="https://www.vox.com/today-explained-podcast.">vox.com/today-explained-podcast.</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

The internet has a crush on some of the candidates running for office this election season and it’s saying a lot about how Democrats and Republicans wield sexuality.

This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt with help from Ariana Aspuru, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed at a town hall event on September 3, 2026 in Waterford, Michigan. Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The internet has a crush on some of the candidates running for office this election season and it’s saying a lot about how Democrats and Republicans wield sexuality.

Thirst trap politics

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