Young voters can lift Democrats to victory

Across America, there is a new generation of young voters ready to teach their elders about the meaning of freedom and democracy.

Throughout the Democratic Party, there is a new generation of rising-star candidates for the Senate, House and governorships, ready to lead the party and nation into the future.

From the moment that the Parkland students galvanized young people across the nation, inspiring millions to march in cities across the country, there has been a movement that can change the course of America in the midterm elections.

{mosads}These young people are the next great generation in American life, and they are rallying in force behind candidates like Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), running for the Senate in Texas, Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams (D), running for governor of Georgia, and Tallahassee, Fla. Mayor Andrew Gillum (D) running for governor of Florida.

Early voting has exploded to stratospheric heights, especially among young voters in the Texas Senate race. 

In the Washington Post Monday, there was a detailed story suggesting, based on data involving early voting and new voter registrations, that a growing wave of young voters is challenging the political status quo and will be voting in large numbers this Tuesday to change America and change the world.

Stacey Abrams is running one of the most inspirational campaigns in Georgia history. Andrew Gillum is campaigning with integrity and vigor to be the governor in Florida who represents all of the people.

Beto O’Rourke is running one of the most innovative and courageous campaigns in modern times, seeking to lift voters and enlarge the electorate. He has inspired massive campaign donations from small donors and huge new voter registration that will lift O’Rourke and every Democrat running for every office in the “Lone Star State.”

Many of the huge number of newly registered voters across America who are young, black, Hispanic and female and have never voted before — and who are heavily inclined to vote this year for Democrats — are not being captured in public opinion polls. 

Young voters who are inspired this year are not the only constituency that is poised to make their voice heard in the midterms.

I marched with the women who came in January 2017 to Washington in the hundreds of thousands to demand they be safe from abuse and witnessed not only inspiring speeches but booths to register new voters.

I marched with supporters of fair immigration in June who came to Washington and stood in huge numbers. I not only witnessed passionate speeches decrying the demonization of Hispanic immigrants and injustice against the “Dreamers” but also witnessed booths to register new voters to make their voices heard in the midterm elections.

I marched with young people and their parents in March, who came to Washington in large numbers to demand that students be protected from school shootings.

There, I witnessed a 9-year-old girl — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s granddaughter — bring hundreds of thousands of people to their feet with her call for young people to be the next great generation in American life — along with booths registering new voters whose dreams for America will be expressed in voting booths Tuesday.

In close elections that will occur in countless races across the country, the voices of young people could be the difference in realizing the dreams of many of the noblest people in America saying no to the siren song of hatred coming from the president’s mouth.

Young people are the best of America. They are the hope of America. They are the future of America. They represent the goodness of America. They believe in the greatness of America. 

These young people could be the catalyst for change in the most important midterm elections in the history of America. 

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.