GOP: We’re not just “old white guys”

BY TYLER WHITLEY
Media General News Service
Published: September 3, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Virginia Republicans acknowledge that their national party has a problem attracting young voters, but say many will come over to the GOP once they have to pay taxes.

With polls showing young people flocking to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Republican delegates to the Republican National Convention here said the GOP needs to do a better job of presenting its message.

“Too many people think we are just old white guys,“ said Kathy Royce, a scheduler for Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, the state party chairman.

The fact that Frederick is 32 — unusually young for a party chairman — should help dispel that image, she said.

According to a poll last week from Harvard’s Institute of Politics, Obama holds a 23-point lead over Sen. John McCain among likely voters ages 18-24.

Young people are registering in Virginia in record numbers. While voters in Virginia do not register by party, polls show a big lead for Obama among the state’s young voters.

In Virginia, McCain and Obama are in a dead heat overall. But Obama led by 23 percentage points among voters under 30 in a Public Policy Polling survey of 1,036 likely voters taken Aug. 20 to 22. McCain led by 24 percentage points among voters over the age of 65.

Kathy Hayden Terry of Roanoke, a member of the Republican National Committee, said such polls were taken before McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Pallin, 44, as his vice presidential running mate. That pick will narrow the gap, she said.

One of the problems is the disparity in age between Obama, 47, and McCain, 72, said Attorney General Bob McDonnell, chairman of the Virginia delegation.

“We’ve got to reach out to college students and young entrepreneurs,“ McDonnell said.“ We’ve got to talk about taxes and spending and what it means to them.“

“I know [young voters siding with the Democrats] have this good feeling about hope and change,“ he continued. “We’ve got to talk about college loans and other issues that mean something to them.“

Ben Marchi of Charlottesville echoed McDonnell’s sentiment.

“Until young people get out into the real world and start earning a paycheck so they can see how much they pay in taxes,“ they will tend to sympathize with the Democrats, said Marchi, an officer of Americans for Hope and Prosperity, an anti-tax group.

But John C. Marsden of Prince Edward County, a 28-year-old lawyer, said it will take more than an economic message for the Republicans to appeal to young voters. Obama is not just a younger candidate, he “has geared his entertainment toward younger people,“ Marsden said.

While Obama has called on a number of young rock stars and other entertainers in his campaign, the Virginia delegation will be treated today to a jazz brunch with Pat Boone, the 74-year-old pop crooner.

Marsden said Ronald Reagan, the oldest president ever inaugurated, brought young people into the Republican Party.

“The Republican message of individualism and opportunity appeals to young people,“ he said.

Tyler Whitley is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.