Millennials for Marco vs. Students for Rand

With only a few weeks to go until the first caucuses and primaries of the 2016 election, two GOP campaigns are battling for the youth vote.
This week, Marco Rubio released a new ad highlighting the senator’s outreach to millennials. The ad featured some members of Students for Rubio, arguing that millennials are not the entitled, self-absorbed generation they are so often portrayed to be.

“Recognize us?” a young woman asks in the ad. “We’re the ones you’ve heard about.”
Other young men and women go on to explain that their generation cares deeply about the future of our country, particularly about “lower taxes,” “good jobs,” and “not inheriting a lifetime of debt.”
Rubio’s campaign, with the slogan “A New American Century,” has focused on attracting young voters. Rubio has attempted to relate to college students and recent graduates by describing his own struggle to pay off student loans, and he has released details of his own plan to reform the higher education system.
However, Rubio is not the only GOP candidate driving for the youth vote. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s campaign has been largely focused on students and young voters as well. In fact, Paul is hoping student support will help him win the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1. Earlier this week, Paul’s National Youth Director Cliff Maloney Jr. reported the campaign had reached 5,000 pledges for Students for Rand in Iowa — and is halfway towards its goal of recruiting 10,000 students to caucus for Rand.
Despite this momentum, Students for Rubio Chairman Cameron Khansarinia said he is confident that their ground game is stronger than all of the other campaigns. According to Khansarinia, Students for Rubio gained 7,000 new members at the end of last year and is now active in more than 35 states.
Khansarinia said Rubio’s college affordability plan gives him more credibility with young voters (Paul has not yet released any plan to address the rising cost of college or student loan debt). While Paul’s campaign is banking on millennials to vote on the issues of criminal justice reform, privacy, and individual rights; Rubio’s is hoping a message of free enterprise and building a strong new economy will resonate with young voters as well.