Proof is in the soy pudding: Younger candidates inspire young voters

In my very first column as a member of the Orlando Sentinel's Editorial Advisory Board, I wrote about how I was tired of older Americans placing the blame for our nation's woes at the feet of my generation. While I stand by that column wholeheartedly, I now wish to follow up by directly addressing my people (including Millennials, Gen Z and some end-of-cycle, cool Gen-Xers — you know who you are).

Not-old people, lend me your figurative ears: Our country needs you. We now outnumber the generations before us, and politically they remain disproportionately powerful only because we allow them to do so. We cannot sit around and wait to be invited; we must claim our seat at the table.

“But, Ben! Youth turnout was up this year.” OK, that settles that. My bad. Problem solved. Just kidding! Youth turnout was up. However, overall turnout was up, too, and youth turnout is still significantly lower than that of older Americans. This year Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of people ages 18-29 knew “not too much” or “nothing at all” about their local congressional candidates. For voters over 65 years old, 76 percent said they knew a “fair amount” or a “great deal” about those races.

So, while things are definitely improving, younger people have historically been so far behind it's going to take more than one election cycle to catch up. So good work, but keep working.

If you are a political party boss wondering, “How do we engage young people to get out and vote?” I have a delightfully simple answer for you: Support them as candidates.

Younger, dynamic candidates connect with younger voters, and the proof is in the vegan, nondairy, soy pudding. This year saw an influx of younger candidates, including right here in Orlando, where a 28-year-old Iranian-American woman, Anna Eskamani, was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. Eskamani earned a decisive victory by appealing to every age group, and driving turnout to above presidential years, something unheard of for a midterm.

Republicans and Democrats both need to shift the focus onto younger generations if they want to win competitive districts. So while we young people have an obligation to proactively step up our participation, savvy state and national leaders from both parties should be looking at successful campaigns — and recruiting dynamic, inspiring candidates — as a blueprint for the future.

Enthusiastic candidates produce enthusiastic voters. Younger candidates inspire younger voters. That's how you win. Ben Friedman of Altamonte Springs is an attorney and director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the policy or position of his employer.