Republicans seek youth vote

The youth vote was one of President Barack Obama’s most supportive voting blocs in 2008.

But Republicans plan to change that this time around by appealing to the economic frustrations of young adults.

In a survey conducted by Rutgers University, only 51 percent of recent college graduates were employed full time.

The Romney for President campaign wants to highlight Obama’s lack of concern for the job market, said Robert Reid, the campaign’s N.C. communications director.

“We are trying to communicate that the president is taking your vote for granted,” Reid said. “He is not offering anything new for you, and he is not telling you how he is going to make your life better.”

Republican student groups echo the Romney campaign’s concern about broken promises.

“People had a lot of anticipation for President Obama. But, in this economy, you can’t ignore not having a job,” said Greg Steele, chairman of the N.C. Federation of College Republicans.

Paul Conway, former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor and president of Generation Opportunity, a right-leaning group focused on young voters, noted how crucial the youth vote was to Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina.

He narrowly won the state by about 14,000 votes in the last presidential election.

“In 2008, 4.3 million people in North Carolina voted,” Conway said, adding that nearly 20 percent of the electorate was in the 18- to 29-year-old range.

Conway and Reid said they are seeing increased enthusiasm for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his newly announced running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

“We have this one volunteer in the (North Mecklenburg County) office and the kid is 14 and can’t even vote and he is one of our top volunteers,” Reid said.

And Steele said membership in some Republican organizations has also increased.

“At the state level, we have federated five new chapters since 2008, and we are growing membership all the time,” he said.

Republicans will stage their national convention in Tampa, Fla., beginning Monday.

Everett Lozzi, a UNC student and state chairman of Young Americans for Liberty, said focusing on the nation’s fiscal problems could help Republicans win more youth votes.

Lozzi is a columnist for The Daily Tar Heel.

“If you look at the debt, the Republicans can project themselves as the moral ones who are thinking about the next generation, and I think they have been able to capture that,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.