Courtesy of The Associated Press
Ron Paul supporters celebrate their second place finish in the Georgia Republican Party’s fish fry in Perry, Ga. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. Businessman and radio show host Herman Cain, also from Georgia, won the ballot with 232 votes, Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul was second with 229 votes and Texas Gov. Rick Perry was third with 180.
Ron Paul supporters celebrate their second place finish in the Georgia Republican Party’s fish fry in Perry, Ga. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011. Businessman and radio show host Herman Cain, also from Georgia, won the ballot with 232 votes, Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul was second with 229 votes and Texas Gov. Rick Perry was third with 180. (Courtesy of The Associated Press)
Ron Paul has done well in recent polls, falling just behind “top tier” candidates, and in some cases beating them handily.
Much of this winning streak is attributed to the votes of young America, with whom Paul has polled even higher.
In a Gallup Poll released Aug. 24 Ron Paul ranked third with 13 percent behind Rick Perry’s 29 percent and Mitt Romney’s 17 percent with Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents.
However, in this same poll, Paul came in first among voters 18 to 29 years old with 29 percent, beating out Perry by eight points and Romney by 17 points.
SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson said the difference might be explained because “libertarian tendencies are particularly pronounced among younger voters — especially relatively affluent college.”
In any case, other 2012 GOP candidates find themselves struggling to get the youth vote while Paul continues to poll high.
Wilson said the reason for the GOP struggle is because the younger generation is much more heavily minority than older ones.
“Given the dramatic disparities in birth rates between whites and minorities, especially Latinos. It is almost inevitable that as long as Republicans struggle with the Latino vote, they will struggle with the youth vote as well,” he said.
Wilson believes that major Republican contenders can make a better reach for the youth vote by emphasizing two things.
First, the “catastrophically high” unemployment levels in the under 25 population, and “the fact that the Obama administration has been unable to do anything about