The media has made Democratic millennial candidates like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the face of the next generation. “Millennials are much more open to socialism,” one article declared over at CNN. “28-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Pushing For Millennials’ Future Through Politics,” headlined another article.
However, there are other millennial congressional candidates headed to the general election who have a clear path to victory, and they have garnered very little national attention. One of those is 30-year-old Justin Fareed, a Republican running in California’s 24th Congressional District.
In a recent poll commissioned by his campaign, Fareed is nearly tied with Democratic incumbent Salud Carbajal, with Fareed polling at 46 percent and Carbajal barely squeezing by at 47 percent. “Justin is already favorably defined in district,” the pollster, Olive Tree Strategies, concluded. “Once Salud’s record is made common knowledge Justin becomes the clear favorite to win in November.”
The irony, though, is that Fareed doesn’t have a high favorability among millennials. In a congressional district filled with college students and recent graduates, Carbajal seems to be the favorite among Fareed’s peers.
“For Fareed to have any chance,” said Santa Barbara conservative advocate Andy Caldwell, “he had to perform much better with UCSB students and Isla Vista residents.”
I asked Fareed how he plans to win the millennial vote in November. “My number one focus is bringing a voice for the next generation to Congress, my community, and our nation’s future,” Fareed tells me. “What I have found among the general electorate — and especially among Millennials — is that they are looking for a representative who will represent their interests regardless of being on the Left or the Right.”
Fareed is advocating education reform that includes greater vocational and technical education so that the next generation has the skills necessary for the 21st-century workforce. By promoting vocational school and other non-traditional academics, he says, there will be fewer people looking at four-year institutions as the necessary path to success; this would greatly reduce the cost of education in the long term and improve our economy with a more diverse workforce.
And when I asked Fareed how he plans to win the votes of those who walk the hallways of University of California, Santa Barbara, he answered with confidence and without hesitation: “We need someone who is going to fight to make people’s lives better so they want to raise their families here on the central coast and in California. So many people are raised here and went to school here, but can’t afford to stay here.”
Fareed is correct: People are increasingly leaving California at an astonishing rate. Between July 2016 and July 2017, California had a net loss of 138,000 residents. And, unsurprisingly, neighboring states such as Arizona and Nevada saw a net increase in residents.
“The bureaucracy that exists must stop driving up the costs in the region,” Fareed passionately says. “We need to create and facilitate an environment where the next generation has a chance to thrive.”
Hopefully the Central Coast’s youth sees this before it’s too late.
Austin Yack is the CEO of Ascendyn Strategies, a political consulting firm, and a conservative commentator and writer.
