Presidential candidates in recent weeks have reached out more on higher education affordability to connect with young voters, but it hasn’t been enough to draw out the youth vote.
In South Carolina, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have pushed their plans to improve higher education to draw in young avoters, according to Greenville Online.
Student loans — either large amounts that will stick around for years or smaller debt parcels that students tend to default on at higher rates — haunt students and recent graduates. Politicians who can connect with students and give them some assurance that they can provide a way out, may be able to gain votes.
Not that many votes, however. Bernie Sanders has captured large majorities of young voters in the Democratic caucuses and primary, but Democratic turnout is much lower than what it was in 2008.
To attract the young, candidates need to move beyond college affordability and student loans. In Nevada, as NPR noted, about two-thirds of 25- to 34-year-olds don’t have a college degree. The economy and health care matter to young voters too, and candidates can’t expect talk about college to shore up their support.
Regardless of policy talk, it might be irrelevant. Democrats have struggled to get out the votes, while Republicans have seen strong turnout rates. The Republican South Carolina primary saw about a 23 percent increase in voters compared with 2012, but GOP candidates haven’t focused on higher education.
Personality adds some pizzazz. Donald Trump won a commanding 32.5 percent of the vote, but Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz had good showings as well, 22.5 percent and 22.3 percent respectively. They’ve connected with voters and presented a vision that has resonated with Republican voters in ways that have eluded Clinton and Sanders among Democratic voters.
Speaking to young voters about higher education might lend credence to claims of policy expertise, but it hasn’t been sufficient to get them to vote, or flock to those candidates.
