As the 2012 Republican presidential primary season charges on, young college students aren’t expected to play a decisive role in the presidential election.
“If you’re a candidate and you rely on young people to vote for you, you’re in trouble,” said Robert Shurtz, a political science professor at Cal State Long Beach.
Instead, the younger generation tends to play a larger role in campaigns, and so volunteering “is the most important thing that younger people do in the political system,” Shurtz said.
Although more young voters favor President Barack Obama over on-and-off Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, Republican candidates can still benefit from wooing these voters.
Senior graphic design major Alexandra Hanna said jobs were the most important issue in the election for her.
“When I get out of school, if there’s no jobs, then I’m just sitting at home and I think that’s what a lot of college students are doing right now when they graduate,” Hanna said.
Hanna said she feels as though Obama has made too many “empty promises.” She said she doesn’t know if she’ll vote for him in the November election.
With Obama’s popularity below 50 percent, Shurtz said the Republicans have a decent chance of reclaiming the White House.
But, in order to retake the White House, the Republican candidates need to highlight their differences from Obama.
Shurtz said some of the main differences are taxes and government spending.
“The Democrats generally want to have higher taxes so the government can do more … and the Republicans want to have lower taxes and have the government do less, and that’s really the key debate right now,” Shurtz said.
However, Long Beach State College Republican President Elizabeth Gamboa said she thinks it will be relatively simple for the Republican Party to win over voters.
“Barack Obama’s shortcomings and a strong conservative is what will woo voters in 2012,” Gamboa said via email.
More specifically, Gamboa believes illegal immigration is “an important factor in picking a presidential nominee.”
On this issue, Gamboa said she thinks that Newt Gingrich is the stronger candidate when compared with Mitt Romney because of his criticism of so-called “sanctuary cities.”
Yet, Kim Lam, a psychology major, said immigration isn’t what she thinks is most important. Lam, an independent, said that the economy is the most significant issue in the presidential election season and she disagrees somewhat with Republican ideology over the role of the government.
“Sometimes, I see how government helps,” Lam said. “Sometimes, I’m for socialized government.”
In addition, Lam disagrees with the Republican stance on abortion and feels that the party is too polarizing. But if she had to vote Republican, she would choose Romney.
The Republican primary in California is scheduled for June 5. However, according to Shurtz, it is unlikely that any Californian, let alone younger students, will play a substantial role in the primaries.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.