February 8, 2025

ReRepublicans delivered the worst midterm performance for a party that has been out of power for more than 20 years. Young voters, who have become a force, are primarily responsible for this failure. If the GOP is going to change, it needs to better appeal to young people, including and especially on the topic of climate change.

In this election, exit polls confirm a nearly 2-1 advantage for Democrats among young voters and record high turnout for the second midterm election in a row. Without a course correction, this highly active voting bloc will continue to tip elections in favor of Democrats. The GOP is in danger of losing a generation of voters. So we must compete for hearts and minds by providing clear answers to the issues that are the most important to young people.

On this front, the data is clear.

Poll after poll confirms that young voters place climate change among their top concerns. If Democrats are perceived as caring about the issue, while Republicans are not, then young voters will continue to flock to the Democratic Party in large numbers. While the GOP has taken some recent steps in the right direction, most of these efforts are still on the periphery. Republicans have a great opportunity to play climate blame by offering better solutions than Democrats. While the Left is busy pushing their Green New Deal that expands government, we conservatives need to more strongly advance the idea that the best way to address the climate challenge is through private enterprise.

Indeed, only market-based solutions, by harnessing the entrepreneurial powers of capitalism, can accelerate the clean energy revolution and deploy new technologies at the scale and speed needed. Standing tall with this approach will allow Republicans to tap into young voters and get their votes. Prioritizing this issue is also purely political upside. In Congress, not a single member who joined the new GOP House caucus on climate has done so before. All of them won their general elections.

Additionally, in competitive general elections, GOP climate-advancing leaders have succeeded at the ballot box. Florida Republicans won across the board, often with landslide margins, while running on a strong record of environmental action. It is no accident that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is the national trend and is performing very well among young voters, gaining support from more than half of voters aged 18-29. His expected approach to the environment is to address a top priority for this constituency. As the GOP goes back to the drawing board after the midterm elections and identifies ways to strengthen and expand our coalition, environmental leadership is a clear political winner. There are few, if any, other issues where we have a better chance of getting voters without losing. It’s an open shot on goal, and we have to take it.

A natural place to start is promoting policies that hold foreign polluters accountable like China. After all, nearly 90% of global emissions come from beyond our shores – a fact that Democrats conveniently overlook. A tool such as a pollution import charge affects many more emission sources than domestic regulations can. In addition, American manufacturers will enjoy an economic boost for their cleaner practices, curbing China’s influence and bringing jobs and opportunities back to our country.

In the next Congress, Republicans must break the Left’s monopoly on the climate issue. By playing offensive, we can come up with better solutions, win new supporters, and tip the electoral scales in our favor.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA

Grayson Massey is a national board member and the vice chairman of the western region of the Young Republican National Federation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *