The College Republicans National Committee released a blistering postmortem study of the 2012 presidential election on Monday that finds the Republican Party’s brand “in need of significant repair” if the GOP wants to win back the youth vote in future elections.
The report, titled “Grand Old Party for a Brand New Generation,” is scathingly critical of the Republican party’s stance on key issues such as gay rights, the economy, and Latino voters–issues where young people with the potential to vote Republican are likely to hold much more progressive positions than GOP candidates.
The report suggests the party improve the communication and positioning of its policies to better reach the youth demographic.
“In focus groups, our respondents associated Republicans with being solely for the rich, lacking in diversity, and being oldfashioned,” the report reads. “The Democratic Party was associated with the attributes of being tolerant and open-minded.”
The CRNC report draws its data from two national surveys conducted in March of 800 registered voters each between ages 18-29. Read the findings in full here.
