Positive messaging, reaching out in person, and uniting the party behind strong economic policies are all ways Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) thinks the Republican party can win over millennial voters.
Schock appeared on CNN Friday to talk with conservative commentator S.E. Cupp about winning young voters. As the second-youngest member of the House of Representatives at age 33, and the first born in the 1980s, Cupp said Schock is the perfect expert to talk to on the subject.
“I think having candidates, conservative Republicans who talk about [the GOP view] in a positive way, in a Reagan-esque way, about there’s a brighter day, this is our path to get there and much more optimistic view of the world is key. So not only the substance, but also tone I think is important. And the messenger is important. Obviously being younger helps you with young people, they’re more open to hear your message. But I don’t think everybody in Congress or that runs for office has to be young to get the youth vote. But I do think a younger person has an advantage when they walk onto a college campus or an employer with young people in the office,” Schock said.
Some of that postive messaging can come from having a “for agenda,” Schock said, meaning that millennials want to vote for something and not just against the other guy. Getting out and showing them that side will be key, he noted.
“The idea that any demographic isn’t going to vote for me for Congress is pretty depressing. I think I’m going to get every vote. And I go everywhere,” Schock said. “So I think that’s the vision our party has to have, that’s the vision that our presidential nominee, I hope, has — that every voter is a potential voter for him or her. And if we do that and we’re inspirational about it and we’re honest about why our positions are better than our Democratic colleagues then I think people will say, ‘Ya know what, that’s something I can vote for.’ Not just vote against something but that’s something I can vote for, and I think in the last couple of years our party has struggled a little bit with having a for-agenda.”
Watch Schock’s full interview below:
