MILWAUKEE – — The nomination of Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance as his party's Vice Presidential candidate on Monday set the tone for one of the big talking points on the second day of the Republican National Convention: age.
"Senator JD Vance [is] the first young Republican who will be elected Vice President of these United States in almost 70 years," predicted Hayden Padgett, the chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, one of the first speakers on the second night of the convention.
VIDEO: 1-on-1 with the Chairman of 'Young Republican National Federation
Indeed, if elected, Vance – who turns 40 years old on August 2 – would become the third-youngest Vice President in American history (the youngest remains John C. Breckinridge, who was 36 when sworn into office under President James Buchanan in 1857, followed by Richard Nixon, who turned 40 just 11 days before he and President Dwight Eisenhower took the oath of office in 1953). In his speech, Padgett emphasized economic priorities for his generation, which he believes a Trump-Vance administration would be better able to address.
"The rising cost of education keeps us in debt," he said. "The rising price of groceries and fuel keeps us living one paycheck to the next. The rising cost of childcare keeps us from starting our own families, and the rising cost of rent keeps us from owning our own home."
These concerns were echoed by La Crosse native Jordan Briskey, who at 22 years old is one of the youngest delegates at this year's convention. I sat down with him to get his perspective on the issues that matter most to young Republicans.
According to Briskey, "18- to 30-year-olds [are] unable to buy their first house, they can't afford rent, a lot of them are struggling in this economic period."
Henry Pahlow, the national Vice Chair for the High School Democrats of America, takes a different view. When I asked him what he makes of economic issues, he said he believes that the Biden-Harris administration is working to bring costs down for young people, particularly emphasizing efforts to forgive student debt.
VIDEO: 1-on-1 with the National Vice Chair of the High School Democrats of America
"There are so many millions of Americans across the country who have had hundreds and thousands of dollars of debt canceled – billions of dollars cumulatively. And I really think that means a lot to young voters, especially as education becomes less and less accessible."
Pahlow, who at 18 will be casting his very first ballot in the fall, says that the other issue that is top of mind for him is democracy itself, expressing concerns about the system's future under a second Trump term. He suggested that it is an issue that may energize young voters.
"We're caring about our futures. And we want to make sure that the first time we vote won't be the last time we vote and that this is a tradition that we can keep doing."
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