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The GOP's "Youth Problem" Is Really a Race Problem

March 21, 2013 @ 12:15 pm (Updated: 12:17 pm - 3/21/13 )

Republican soul-searching about what went wrong in the 2012 election often focuses on the youth vote, suggesting that Democrats will continue to win among young voters unless conservatives abandon their traditional positions on social issues.

But this argument ignores the fact that among the big majority of voters 29 and younger who identified as white, Romney won decisively - by a comfortable margin of 7 points. Romney still lost badly among young voters overall because non-white voters comprised 39 percent of the youth vote, compared to 28 percent of the electorate at large. In other words, the core Republican problem isn't with young voters, it's with those classified as non-white voters, young, old and middle-aged.

Until Republicans can make progress attracting more support among Latinos, Asians and blacks, they will continue to lose young voters - as well as nationwide elections.

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  • SeattleD wrote...
    Just a couple weeks ago
    March 21, 2013 6:28 pm
    Medved was insisting Latinos were really just white people. But now when he wants Romney to have won the white youth votes he suddenly decides Latinos are a minority race.

    How convenient.

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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Much as I hate to agree to any extent, D, I'm not sure what Mr. Medved believes anymore - and I not sure HE does either.
    March 21, 2013 7:25 pm
    The simple solution for republican re emergence is to return to the big tent of Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. And then 'race' become irrelevant vs opportunity and achievement for all.

    The Nixonites of this world never got that before, and the Bush/Chaney/Romney faction has never gotten it since. ... If you are not spending all your time plotting and figuring the racial factors of the American people, you've a lot more time to enhance to equality and prosperity of all. ... And isn't opportunity, prosperity and individual freedom far, far better for America than racism and class warfare ???????

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  • gaymarriedchristianfromhollywood wrote...
    Ron,
    March 23, 2013 12:21 pm
    Hand in hand we live together, Latino or not, it's all the same. Black or white, brown or red, we shouldn't be mean to each other because that's lame. I stole that! The right could very easily appeal to the demographics they lost simply by moving to the center. It is a fallacy to think that the right could appeal to the majority of Americans with some of the ideas that the right holds. Specifically on major issues like immigration, abortion, social programs, health care issues...most Americans disagree with them. Until they move to the center they'll keep losing because America may be center right, but it's not right right.
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  • Lysander wrote...
    Not really
    April 30, 2013 8:42 pm
    It is an age problem. Young people came in droves for Ron Paul. they were not minorities but a proper reflection of america white and other... The GOP shut them out and got what was coming to them for it. Medved wants to stick his head in the sand and pretend it is not true. That is fine by me.
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