Young Republicans made up less than 2 percent of the delegates at the Republican National Convention held this week, a contrast to the 15 percent young Democrat turnout at the Democratic National Convention held the week before.
Out of 2,380 delegates at the GOP Convention, 42 delegates were considered young Republicans, or between the ages of 18 and 30, according to a statement from Rick Cofer, Texas' youngest delegate sent to the Democratic National Convention. Young Democrats represented 631 of the 4,232 delegates present at the party's convention.
The lower number of Republican delegates doesn't reflect the entire youth population, and students may not be able to attend because classes around the country began around the time the convention began, said government senior Allison Miller, who is also a member of College Republicans at Texas and co-chair of the UT Students For McCain organization.
"I don't think this is an area for concern," Miller said. "There may be a larger group of young Democrat delegates, but it's the groups working across the nation and on campuses that are helping to get John McCain's message out. That's what matters."
Young Democratic voters may have turned out in larger numbers than expected during the primaries, but some officials question whether the trend will continue.
"In the primaries, the 18-24 age group turnout exceeded anyone's expectations by far," said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, a University-sponsored online educational resource. "The question is if these voters will actually turn out for the general election. We don't know that answer yet, but I think we can attribute this to pure mobilization by the candidates."
Government and German junior Andy Jones, spokesman for the University Democrats, said this is the first presidential nomination process where young voters feel invited to participate.
"This is the first time in a while someone has asked young voters to be a part of this process," Jones said. "Naturally, when you have more students being brought into the process, you're going to have more participation, even at the highest level."
Despite party affiliation, Henson said there are things to be gained from involving young people in the political process.
"Involving a young population cultivates resources and talent for the future," Henson said. "Young people can be considered ground troops for the party. A volunteer today could potentially be the party leader of tomorrow."
Presidential campaigns are not the only ones benefiting, he said.
"For young people to be politically involved means they learn about the process and how an important part of the world works," Henson said. "The students that I've talked to that are directly engaged say that the process enriches them. Participants in political internships may say 'I don't want to do this for a living' but remain involved and informed."
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