“The people are the only legitimate fountain of power.” ~James Madison”
Dear Canyon County,
I am so excited and honored to be your Canyon County Youth Committeewoman for the Republican Party!
In case you are unfamiliar with the structure of the Republican Party at the County level, this means that I am a voting member of the State Central Committee (SCC), the Canyon County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC), the Region 3 Committee, and I represent voters between 18 and 40 here in our county.
My heart for the 18 to 40 age demographic of Republicans is to reach, connect, and mobilize. The past decade in Idaho has seen a pretty dramatic downturn in Republican youth participation. The 18 to 45 year old
age bracket continually shows the lowest voter turnout every election cycle. That percentage lowers even more when looking at our county. I aim to change that.
My mission these next two years as Youth Committeewoman is threefold. First, my goal is to reach the Republican youth in our county- particularly those who feel isolated or ostracized for their conservative values in their schools, universities, places of work, and communities. Secondly, I want to connect and build relationships with these young people who are in all different stages of life and work to build a community that is active in the Party and emboldened by the knowledge that they are not alone. Finally, I aim to mobilize Canyon County’s 18-40 age demographic in our community, Party, and government.
Because the age demographic I represent is so large, I understand that there are varying stages of life 18 to 40 years old find themselves in. Some may still be in high school or college, others may have chosen to not attend college and work a vocation in the community. Some are married- some single. Some with children, others without. Some are homeowners, others have roommates in college dorms. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to mobilizing these different groups. But rest assured, I am dedicated to getting us all passionate and involved, even if it’s only in small ways.
We learned a lot of valuable lessons this past primary election and one of the most important was that we have work to do concerning voter education and turnout. Young people, there is a lot of work to be done in our state to ensure we stay RED. But if we want to stay RED, we cannot stay idle.
History has taught us that powerful things happen when young people get involved in their civics and their community. Our action is powerful.
Let’s keep Idaho, Idahome.
For Idaho,
Rachel Hazelip