A new report has discovered that many millennials understand very little about the policies they support — and some don’t even support what they promote.
The College Republican National Committee, in collaboration with the Republican State Leadership Committee and The New Republican, published “Growing Up GOP: Fresh Ideas From the Fresh Faces of the Republican Party.” The report found that millennials are very inconsistent with their political beliefs.
Half of the millennials surveyed said they want a presidential candidate who promotes clean energy, but respondents in focus groups ranked “addressing climate change” last among the issues they want presidential candidates to emphasize.
Similarly, 48 percent of millennials noted pay equality for men and women as an important issue and that millennials are most interested in a political party that supports “aggressive action to ensure racial and gender equality.” However, only 22 percent said it is important that a presidential candidate supports feminism.
Just like ambiguity in their stances on specific issues, millennials hold conflicting opinions on life philosophies. For example, 49 percent of surveyed millennials said that “luck, not hard work, is how the wealthy get ahead in America.” In contrast, 45 percent also said that “hard work is what gets you ahead in America these days.”
Millennials are also most interested in “giving students new ways to pay for college.” With many millennials burdened by student debt, it’s not surprising that young people want a political party to find new ways to pay for college.
When asked about the most significant personal qualities in a candidate, millennials value being kind to people of “all different walks of life” and public speaking skills. They also prefer candidates who focus on “making things happen” and hard work.
Millennials’ split opinions grow from their political affiliation. Sixty-four percent of “conservative” and 73 percent of “very conservative” millennials believe hard work is the key factor in success. On the other hand, 34 percent of self-identified “liberals” and just 23 percent of “very liberal” millennials said they do not believe in the value of hard work.
