An organization works to get Republicans to focus on issues important to Gen Z

 

An organization works to get Republicans to focus on issues important to Gen Z

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Joe Mitchell of Run Gen Z, which supports young Republicans running for office, about the next generation of leadership in the Republican Party.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In her rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for a new generation of Republican leadership. But who exactly is that new generation? Well, they might look like Joe Mitchell, who at 21 was the youngest person ever elected to the Iowa House of Representatives back in 2018. Mitchell now runs Gen Z GOP, which supports young Republicans running for office, and he joins us now. Good morning, Joe.

JOE MITCHELL: Good morning, Leila. How are you guys?

FADEL: I'm doing well. Glad to have you on the program. So let's start with this new generation. Does it exist? Is there a young generation of Republican leadership coming up? And is there a big difference between that generation and the older generation in the party?

MITCHELL: Yeah. So our organization is called Run GenZ. And so what our mission is, is to empower, recruit and mentor² the next generation of conservative leaders across this country from the state and local levels. So we're helping³ to build this bench and this farm team for the next generation of leaders that are coming to run for city council and county Board of Supervisors⁴ and state legislative⁵ positions. And so we've been up and running for about two years now - had wonderful success, had an 80% win rate in the last midterm. But we're focusing on those folks, 18 to 30, that are conservative and wanting to run for office.

FADEL: And in that group, 18 to 30, what are the issues that are important to that generation when - that generation of conservatives?

MITCHELL: Well, I think it depends, you know, where you're at in the country. I think it depends, you know, what you may be running for. Obviously, if you're running for a school board position, that may be different than the issues on the city council or the state legislative, you know, level. And I think, you know, a lot of our young people, you know, that are running are still running in districts that, you know, there's a high population of, you know, older Americans that are voting, you know, in those races. So there's really two different topics there - young people running, what they have to cater⁶ to and those traditional issues that may come up - you know, funding law enforcement, the economy, you know, the border, even, in some places. And then you have, you know, on a national basis, how can we get more young people to actually vote, you know, with conservatives more?

FADEL: I'm looking at a poll right now that shows younger voters are more likely to view the Democratic Party favorably over the Republican Party, although neither get a resounding⁸ approval rating. What does your party need to do to change that?

MITCHELL: Well, so, you know, some of the statistics I've been looking at lately is that, you know, historically, in midterm elections, 11 to 13% of the electorate⁹ are folks under 30. And so this last midterm, there wasn't, you know, substantial more amount of young people under 30 that voted. It was about 12% of the electorate. But there was an overwhelmingly amount of folks that normally - you know, 60-40 is Democrat⁷, Republican, they're voting, these young people, but now they're voting 70-30. And there's a widening gap of young people that are voting for, you know, Democrat candidates, you know, across the country. And so, you know, what we're working on is trying to address issues that maybe young people care about a little bit more - the environment, you know, potentially school shootings, women's health care, and saying that these are things that we also care about. We may just have different solutions to helping to solve those problems.

FADEL: Joe Mitchell of Run GenZ GOP, thanks so much for joining us.

MITCHELL: Hey, thanks, Leila. You guys take care.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

9 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。