The newly elected Chairman of the New Hampshire GOP John Dowd says his party will target college students more in the future after what some analysts call the overshadowing of his party by the Democratic Party's efforts in the last election.
"The Republican message is not heard as often on college campuses as it should be," Dowd told The Dartmouth, adding that he believes that Democrats did a much better job turning out college students in the last election.
"We'll do better," he said. "We've got to organize."
Dowd said he plans to restructure college students' involvement by bringing disparate College Republican groups closer together and by giving them more of a voice at the statewide level.
Dartmouth College Republicans President Kathleen Reeder '03 said students are especially important to the GOP because "we're the future of the party."
"At this stage, most of our political views have come from our parents," she said. "College is where people start to solidify their ideologies."
"Most young people initially find Democrats more appealing," she continued. "How well thought out is that? I don't know."
Brian Stults '02, a member of the Dartmouth Young Democrats Executive Council, explained why students may be more likely to vote Democratic.
"I think there's an image out there that Democrats are more interested in social programs while Republicans are interested in protecting their pocket books," he said.
"Whether or not that's valid, I think college students are in a position where they can consider social programs over their pocket books."
College Republican Federation of New Hampshire Chairman Bob Gienko '01 said he thinks the New Hampshire GOP's new plans will pay off.
"The Democrats have spent a lot of money trying to get students out to vote. The state party sent letters and made phone calls to basically every room on campus," he told The Dartmouth.
With especially close New Hampshire state level elections, Gienko explained that this may have had a significant impact on the outcome. "They won two senate seats they may not have won without the college vote."
There are already five college Republican groups in the state that are active and communicating with each other, he explained, adding that more support from the state level will likely have a strong impact.
Stults isn't as sure. "I don't know how effective they'll be," he said, explaining that he sees that "there's a growing aspect of college students that are Democrats. I'd be surprised if it makes a difference and it helps them win the governorship in two years."
Beyond organizing, Dowd said he wants to dispel what he perceives as young people's misunderstandings of the Republicans' stance on "issues that might seem to be Democratic or Green issues."
"The underlying message of the Republican party is small government, low taxes and local control," he continued. "That's a message we want young folks on campus to hear about."
