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Millennials Prepare to Take on Political Establishment

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The so-called "Youth Vote" isn't known for actually making it to the polls to vote.

However, this young generation is growing increasingly dissatisfied with the way the country is being run and realizes that they will eventually pay for the decisions made by today's leaders.

That reality is serving as a wake-up call for this voting bloc to change course and get involved in the political process.

"We have something very, very powerful, we have the largest generation on this planet. Eighty million right here in America, a billion on the planet, and we are one of the most un-tapped sleeping giants," said Laquan Austion, founder and CEO of Action for America.

Identifying Young Leaders

Action for America is a political advocacy group that is working to reinvigorate government by identifying young leaders.

"What if we could turn this broken system, if we could change the players, change the leaders and change the people that support them? That is a solution to politics, that is how we fix it. And this generation is just uniquely positioned to actually do that," said Austion.

To encourage them to make that leap and run for office, Austion's group has launched the Awaken 100 Campaign. 

"It's time that we say, 'You know what, maybe we represent ourselves.' What if we found someone that really inspired us, that looked like us, that sounded like us, that thought like us -- and we actually supported that person. That's representation at its finest. That's what our democracy is designed to do," said Austion.

This concept of Millennials pursuing politics is spreading quickly throughout the country. In Anchorage, Alaska, an economic crisis is forcing the upcoming generation to get involved and reshape the state's future.

"In this issue in particular, you've got kind of a unique, complex problem that isn't going to affect Alaska this year or next as much as it is three, four years from now. We see sort of an interesting situation where the people making a lot of the decisions, or should be making the decisions, aren't going to be the ones most impacted by them. This is something that's really going to affect people most of our generation," said Alaskan Ian Laing.

Laing is a member of a new, all-volunteer group called Our Alaska. Members use social media and other digital tools to teach their generation about balancing the state's budget, creating jobs and working toward a better financial future.

"It's boring, complex, negative, future-focused. It is the last thing that anybody wants to talk about. So, yeah, that's the key challenge that everybody's had and it's what really informed our approach to try and do something that was funny and edgy and a little more attention-grabbing than your conventional campaign," Laing said.

New Campaign Strategies

One benefit of running social media campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Twitter is that you can see in real time how your campaign is doing compared to others.

"We watched how our campaign would progress against several other campaigns that were being led by non-profits, business organizations -- which had literally hundreds of times the amount of money we had -- and in the social media realm, in terms of engagement, we crushed them all," Laing said.

"We've seen a really positive response from elected officials as well. The governor has met with our group several times; folks in his administration, representatives and senators, are interested in being involved and hearing what we have to say," said Our Alaska co-founder Penny Gage. "Maybe they're intimidated; maybe they think they should talk with us because otherwise we're going to run for their seats."

Jason Grenn, an Our Alaska member, is doing just that. At 35, he's running for a seat in the state House against a much older incumbent.

"I think young people right now, we have some experience. We have a different background or mindset and we have a different vision for the future than maybe someone who's in the retirement age or maybe might move out of Alaska because its not an ideal place for them and their lifestyle. For me, I have a family, I have kids, I speak for that voice, I speak for the next two years, five years, 10 years -- not just what's the immediate fix for people who might not care as much because they don't have as much at stake," Grenn said.

We spent a few hours with Grenn, who's combining traditional, "boots on the ground," campaigning with a targeted social media strategy.

For example, more than 8,000 people viewed a quick Facebook Live video we did with Grenn before he started knocking on doors.

Door knocking helps Grenn meet constituents, while social media allows them to follow along with his campaign.

"You can kind of update what you're doing, you know, on a day-to-day basis. You kind of give people that personal insight into what you're doing, but also your views on certain topics. So I can talk to moms I meet and dads I meet and neighbors -- you know, anyone I meet. I can tell them, go to my Facebook page and see what I did yesterday and today," said Grenn.

There are plenty of excuses not to get involved with the political process: busy lives, budding careers and balancing work with family.

Still, Grenn and those involved with Our Alaska say they refuse to continue to go unrepresented and unheard. 

It's that spirit that Action for America hopes to capture and spread to change the future.

"Sometimes we say we need to wait our turn in line. I think the time for waiting is actually over," said Austion. 

"It's going to take some real courage. It's going to take some real bold folks to be the first ones on that line, and of course you may lose. You may go through the ring of fire. You may get beat up a little bit, but that's what this revolution's going to take, and I think to have the support of millions of supporters behind you, it's going to take bold leaders to begin with and that's what we're looking for."


 

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT