Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

February 2015 – The Republican Party won big in November 2014 elections. But exit polls conducted by the National Election Pool and reported by the New York Times identify a looming problem the party must address.

In 2014 midterm elections, 47% of American voters cast a ballot for Democrats while 52% checked the box for Republican candidates. But digging further into the numbers reveals a troubling truth for the GOP.

Democrats won 54% of votes of those under 29, leaving Republicans only 43%. What worked in favor of Republicans is the fact that the young demographic only represented 13% of votes cast in 2014.

However, young conservative voters tend to be more active than those who vote Democrat. Saira Blair is one such example. She ran for and won a seat in the House of Delegates in West Virginia. Blair is 18. She said, “My generation is going to have $17 trillion of [national] debt on our hands. And we deserve at least one vote in the House of Delegates. We shouldn’t have to wait until we’re 30, 40, 50, or 60 to understand the importance of conservative principles.”

pewresearch.org, 11/5/14; news.yahoo.com, 12/10/14