To some, we are the generation of the participation trophy. A group that grew up coddled and thus expects the world to be served up to us on a platter. To others, we are the screen addicts. A cohort whose technological savvy and social media presence makes us more apt to binge-watch than chit-chat. And to still others, we are defined by our over-sensitivity, creating concepts like “trigger warnings” and “microaggressions” to hide from the realities of a hard world.
Those are caricatures, not defining traits. In reality, we are enterprising, innovative, and connected. We are preternaturally optimistic, confident that our own abilities can carry us through the economic woes around us, yet also deeply skeptical, particularly of institutions that have continually failed us. We are a generation of startups, cravers of customization, topplers of the status quo, and rejecters of political labels.
We’re also enormous. In 2015, millennials surpassed Generation X to become the largest share of the workforce. In 2016, we surpassed the Baby Boomers to become the largest living generation. And in 2018, we are projected to pass the Boomers as the largest generation of eligible voters.
We have already reshaped the workforce with our desire for work-life balance, our fingerprints are all over the economic shift toward technology, and now, our presence will be felt in the political process.
But what form will that change take?
The collective wisdom suggests that the changes to the electorate’s composition will benefit Democrats. Millennials are more racially diverse, less religiously devout, and hold traditionally liberal opinions on certain issues, particularly social ones. None of that necessarily means millennials will grow into the reliably Democrat base, nor does it tell the whole story of who we are. After all, we’re also deeply skeptical of government, looking for options outside of politics to meet today’s societal challenges, and favor bottom-up growth and innovation over top-down Washington bureaucracy.
Research also shows that young adults have many of the same goals their parents wanted — they’re desirous of starting their own business, buying a house, and raising a family, and they’d like to do it without the government snooping over their shoulder or squashing their hopes with taxes and regulations. Some of these views owe themselves to a generation coming of age in a political environment dominated by sluggish economic growth and questions of government surveillance. But they’re also part of a larger cultural trend that favors the power of technology to democratize and incentivize entrepreneurship far more efficiently than our broken government.
These conservative traits and free-market undercurrents have manifested themselves in steady but marginal improvements in Republicans’ political performance. President Barack Obama’s advantage among young people shrank from 34 points in the 2008 election to 23 points in 2012. President Trump was able to make a smaller, but nevertheless important, gain in 2016, losing young voters by 18 percent.
Despite these continued improvements among millennial voters over the last two presidential election cycles, the Republican Party is still a long way from winning the increasingly critical age group. Making further inroads with young adults is critical, not just in the short term as we work to maintain majorities in the House and Senate, but for the long-term prospects for the Republican Party.
Research has shown that voting is a habit-forming behavior, and that brand loyalty to a particular party can emerge over time. That speaks to the challenge we face, but it also represents a tremendous opportunity, if only we take the time to grasp it.
This begins with a message of openness to an ever-changing world, a proactive focus on creating a culture of organic, bottom-up growth and innovation that embraces new ideas to age-old problems. Inevitably, these buzzwords won’t be enough to overcome the skepticism of young voters if they are nothing more than window dressing to a party that is perceived as overlooking the particular concerns of young voters.
Instead, these concepts must serve as the window itself, providing a glimpse into a party that cares about people from all walks of life, acknowledges barriers to equal opportunity and tackles them head-on, and is willing to put in the hard work to get things done.
The power of Republican ideas is timeless, but the Grand Old Party must be re-messaged to resonate with a new generation. The party must not fall into the trap of preconceived notions and labels about what Millennials are and aren’t. What they must internalize is that we are now the biggest voting bloc, which means that we hold the keys to our nation’s political and policy future.
Chandler Thornton (@chandlerUSA) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He’s chairman of the College Republican National Committee.
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