I don’t think anything can bore me more than state politics. News about the presidential primaries and other revelations in national politics are easy to come across. Turn on C-SPAN or CNN, and you can keep up with what’s going on in the White House. If you ask any average-minded student on the campus who the country’s president and vice president are, then (hopefully) they’ll know the right answer. (If they don’t, then we have an entirely different problem on our hands.) Try to ask them who our senators, representatives or state delegates are? Well, that’s a different story.
Our parents and members of the generation before us blame this lack of knowledge on local politics as something that’s our own fault. The seemingly prevalent mantra still exists: Young people aren’t knowledgeable about who’s running for Senate (or any other) primaries because they’d rather watch MTV than learn about politicians. They’d rather attend a Lady Gaga concert than learn about who’s running for the state General Assembly. Although that may be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s somehow our fault if we don’t keep up with what’s going on in our backyards.
It’s mainly the candidate’s job to get in touch with us. Yet so far, they’ve done a lackluster job. Let’s face it, candidates in local politics have been out of touch with American youth for a while now. Why is this a problem? The youth vote made up 18 percent of the national electorate in the 2008 elections, according to the Pew Research Center. However, sadly, according to a Tufts University study, only 8 percent of local party chairs believed youth were an important demographic for the “long term success of their party.”
Regardless of whether or not you agree with President Barack Obama’s politics, one thing cannot be denied — he ran a hell of a campaign. His 2008 run wasn’t just monumental for Americans; it was monumental among American youth. Droves of young people backed Obama in chants of hope and change. Tweets and Facebook messages from his campaign spread across the nation like wildfire. YouTube videos marketing his bid for the presidency were replayed constantly. He even sponsored a Dave Matthews concert during the Democratic primaries to convince Hillary Clinton supporters to back him. And who did the Republicans run? A so-called “conservative” candidate who looked like death and demonstrated no knowledge of social media.
The answer to how local candidates can energize and gain youth support lies simply in the marketing strategy. If you care about the youth vote, then make a dent in the places where the youth reside — social networking sites, MTV, music concerts and college campuses.
Take exhibit A: State Republican Senate candidate Robert Broadus. Although he is a staunch defender of individual liberties with a badass military record, college students have no idea who he is. Perhaps this is because he barely has any presence on Facebook. Perhaps this is because he has only posted nine tweets and never campaigned on a college campus.
If anything, youth interest in politics starts in the grassroots. College students who enter the ballot box are underestimated. Candidates are only going to alter their opinions if constantly attracting their attentions. Although this may be an overstatement, college students are the future of America, and avoiding them in senate, congressional and other primaries will cause them to make uneducated votes. So, I say to candidates who are running for state primaries in April: Make that connection with the youth. If you don’t, you’ll really regret it once the general elections come knocking.
Caroline Carlson is a freshman government and politics and marketing major. She can be reached at carlson@umdbk.com.
