What will attract the youth vote?

The College Conservative reports.

Why Can’t Conservatives Attract Young Voters?

It’s no secret that conservatives have had difficulty winning over Millennials. According to a 2014 Pew Research study, 41% of Millennials identify as mostly or consistently liberal, while only 15% identify as mostly or consistently conservative – a 26% difference. Considering the same survey saw more Baby Boomers identify as conservative and only a 9% liberal advantage for Generation Xers, this separation poses a huge challenge for conservative leaders. President Barack Obama won 66% of the youth vote in 2008 and 60% in 2012. Conservatives have a (yet another) demographic problem.

Conservatives must work now to convert Millennials and the rising Generation Z to our basic tenets of limited government and individual freedoms. So far, current conservative leaders – in politics, media, and otherwise – have failed to properly engage young people. They have used the wrong strategies to fight the wrong battles and have simply not made enough of an effort to win young people to our cause.

The problem centers on many conservatives’ unwillingness to keep social issues out of the political debate and refusing to recognize the interests and priorities of young voters. Furthermore, conservatives are not adequately engaging young people on issues that should matter to them because they will be left with the consequences (for instance: debt, war, powers of government). In effect, conservatives are trying to drive a square pole into a round hole.