“A few years ago, politics was definitely not a cool thing to be into,” said Mr. Finesurrey, a sophomore and an Obama supporter at the University of Wisconsin whom I found in the process of researching this column (translation: he’s a friend of my daughter). “You walk into a house full of students and CNN is on. People who do it are not looked upon as nerdy.”

Politics isn’t just the B.M.O.C., but its own wingman, too. “It used to be that you never discussed politics on the first date,” he said. “Now there is nothing else to talk about.”

The news media have complained for years about this demographic: they don’t read newspapers, they don’t watch news on television, they don’t care about politics. But maybe the news gave up on them, not the other way around.

“Young people are being paid attention to this time around and they have responded in kind, both in terms of politics and news about politics,” said Dhavan V. Shah, a journalism professor at the University of Wisconsin. “Whether the election coverage can translate into sustained regular attention from younger viewers depends on what happens. If they are staked in what happens, they will continue to follow the news.”

Who let all these kids in? Not the news executives, who don’t  and shouldn’t  take credit for the huge influx of young viewers. There is, after all, no substitute for great casting and it’s hard to beat a cadre of candidates that includes a war hero, a former first lady and a first-term senator who happens to be black.

The cable news outlets are all conscious that new, younger eyes are on them. They may not know who John King of CNN is, but they recognize the technology behind the giant iPod-like device that allows him to parse information at the flick of a finger. David Bohrman, the executive producer of CNN’s political coverage, found the device at a spy convention.

“Maybe I should be thinking about the younger viewer more, but we are just trying to come up with a program that gives our audience a clear picture of what is going on, and the graphic display is part of that,” Mr. Bohrman said. But he added, “I was shocked when I saw the demographic breakdown on our Democratic debate in Los Angeles and saw that there were over a million people 18 to 34 watching. I find that very reassuring.”