Shockingly, thanks to millennials, Republican Party breaks ground game record

The Republican National Committee just trained its 25,000th Republican Leadership Initiative Fellow this week, highlighting a growing trend that the Republican party continues to see: Conservative millennials are excited and eager to show their support for the Republican agenda, conservative policies, and candidates through grassroots efforts. According to the RNC, millennials make up 50 percent of participants in the Republican Leadership Initiative, the RNC’s flagship training program. As RLI fellows, students are taught how to conduct voter registration, recruit volunteers, and collect and use data, among other grassroots skills. Graduates of the program become part of the GOP’s permanent, on-the-ground infrastructure.

The 25,000 benchmark is nearly double the RNC’s initial goal for the midterm cycle, demonstrating the sheer size and scope of the GOP’s ground game heading towards November. This is five times the number of RLI fellows recruited during the entire 2016 presidential cycle. “Engagement is off the charts … we are outpacing ourselves even during a so-called ‘off year’,” RNC Deputy National Press Secretary Blair Ellis told the Washington Examiner. Part of this high millennial involvement comes from the RNC’s partnerships with more than 130 colleges and universities across 25 states by offering class credit to college students who complete the RNC’s six-week RLI Training Program. Students are eligible for 3-6 hours of college credit and are monitored by both GOP state parties and professors or administrators who ensure students are hitting weekly requirements.

The program is offered at large state schools like Ohio State University and Florida State University as well as smaller, private schools like Liberty University and Xavier University. In just the last three months, the number of colleges and universities wishing to participate in the class credit partnership has nearly doubled. “These stats should come as no surprise — young Americans are excited about what President Trump and the Republican Congress have accomplished in just two short years. This excitement, paired with the RNC’s unprecedented level of youth engagement on school campuses, in classrooms, and in communities across the nation, has empowered young conservatives to get involved and make their voices heard,” said Mitch Freckleton, RNC Director of Youth Engagement. “Millennials hitting the polls is of such importance to us now and in future races of every kind in our country. Just talking to one millennial a day about how much their vote truly matters and can change how this country turns out for elections,” RLI fellow Gabby Lawrence, a student at the University of Reno, Nevada, told the Washington Examiner. Much of this momentum comes from the Campus Leader program, which was launched just months ago in spring 2018. The Campus Leader program is meant to “identify team leaders on college campuses who can help to organize and energize college students and millennials ahead of 2018,” according to information provided to Red Alert Politics last December from the RNC. Students say the program has provided them with great insight into the power of informing voters.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/shockingly-thanks-to-millennials-republican-party-breaks-ground-game-record