Several hundred young people showed up last week at a meeting of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA at the University of South Florida's Tampa campus. That showing came in the wake of last year's elections, when polls showed more young people than ever are identifying themselves as Republican.
Brittany Lyssy is president of the Young Republicans of Hillsborough County. During Friday's meeting of the Tampa Tiger Bay Club, she said her club has doubled in membership in the past five years.
"Affordability is a huge issue, and the Republicans have run on an issue of the economy," Lyssy said. "They want to make it more affordable. Immigration is a big issue, and then a lot of the social issues you're seeing that have been shoved in young people's faces from the time they were in high school and on."
Lyssy said a lot of young people are rebelling against what she called "woke ideology."
"And so now you're seeing more of a meritocracy," Lyssy said. "You get what you earn, and that can be beneficial to everybody and young people I think are starting to gravitate towards that."
But also during that meeting, Jackson McMillian, treasurer of Young Democrats of Hillsborough County, said their fundraising is the strongest it's ever been. He said Young Democrats chapters last year raised $1.7 million for youth turnout across Florida.
"We're putting young people, the next generation that is housing first, affordability first in these seats so that they can message to their community. Tampa Bay is our next step. We're ready for these elections. We will be engaging in them. We will be funding candidates," McMillian said.
"I think the youth fundraising powerhouse that we've built is the strongest it's ever been, and you will see those resources at play right here in Tampa Bay as we advocate for Democrats in these states."
