Young voters take interest in politics
Enid News & Eagle
Young people in the Enid area have taken an interest in the presidential race and what is important to them.
The Enid News & Eagle talked to a few people to get their thoughts on the race, the top candidates, President Joe Biden and Republican challenger and former president Donald Trump, as well as the issues they see as most important.
Jacob Young Republican
Jacob Young, a freshman at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid, is a registered Republican in Garfield County.
He said the economy and national security are the two biggest concerns for him regarding the presidential election. He said there are a lot of complaints about the economy having pretty much fallen apart.
“Things are getting more expensive, harder to afford, living paycheck to paycheck,” Young said. “Right now, I’m living paycheck to paycheck, and I can’t even afford to move out of my mom’s house, which really sucks, but that’s just life.”
He said he was a little disappointed neither political party could come up with a different candidate than the last election in 2020, but said he doesn’t have anybody in mind he wishes was the nominee. He said politicians of older generations aren’t able to connect with younger voters.
“I just think old people in office that are out of touch with the younger generation and the majority of the population in general, it’s just like you don’t know about us, you don’t care about us, you’re up there doing what you want to do,” Young said.
He said he votes along party lines and will support Trump in November. He said one of the issues he believes affects Oklahoma the most is the state’s attempt to go more toward green energy but without being able to get away from natural gas.
“In Oklahoma, oil and gas is a big thing. I know that we’re trying to go more toward wind energy, and honestly I think that we are not going to get away from natural gas, we’re not going to get away from oil,” Young said. “The reason I say that is because we’ve tried going 100% clean energy and everything, but there have always been flaws with the systems that we make. For example, wind energy is a big one. What happens when the windmills freeze and stop spinning? Or like when we have solar power, the sun doesn’t shine 24/7, it’s not the most efficient.”
Nadia Valles Democrat
Nadia Valles, 22, graduated from Oklahoma State University in December and works in Enid.
She was born and raised in Hennessey and still lives there.
A self-described progressive Democrat, she said the big issues for her are women’s rights and health care; education; and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
She said a lot of younger people from both parties are taking an interest in the war in Gaza.
“We can all agree that murder — women and children being murdered — isn’t what we want,” Valles said.
She said she and others like her want an immediate cease fire and are upset that Biden hasn’t forced the issue. That could hurt him, she said, if people decide not to vote for Biden in November or decide not to vote at all.
She does, though, like other things Biden stands for and advocates for, including women’s rights and infrastructure.
“As of right now, I want to vote for someone who represents by priorities,” she said. “I see myself leaning toward Joe Biden.”
She also said she hopes both parties will turn toward younger candidates in the next election.
“Ultimately, we have people in their 70s and 80s deciding issues for younger people,” Valles said. “I would love to see someone younger who can attract voters, even someone in the late 50s or 60s — I’ll take that.”
Kimberly Boles Republican
Kimberly Boles is a 19-year-old student at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Enid. She has voted in local and state elections and the presidential preference primary, but this fall will be her first chance to cast a ballot for state and federal offices in a general election.
One of Boles’ top issues in the presidential race is the Biden administration’s handling of the nation’s southern border, with people from Mexico, Latin American countries and even elsewhere around the world “that are going right through our border” and entering the United States illegally.
“Biden claims that he’s wanting to protect the border, but he isn’t enforcing any of the laws or letting (Texas) Governor Abbott take his stance that he needs to to protect his state,” she said.
Boles also takes a firm anti-abortion stance. She believes the national policy and laws “should be pro-life and should not have the choice the abort a living baby.”
Life begins at conception, she said, and the nation’s laws need to reflect that.
She does not support continued aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
“On Ukraine, I believe we should be taking more of an isolationist approach with that, because we shouldn’t be sending most of our money to a foreign country when we can barely have Americans sustain ourselves,” Boles said. “We need to spend it on our own border rather than on foreign countries’ borders.”
Boles said she supports Trump and voted for him in the presidential primary.
Although she is a university student, Boles does not support Biden’s plans to forgive student loans.
“I don’t support student debt relief,” she said. “I don’t believe students should be taking out thousands and thousands of dollars for a big-name school just so they can have a degree from there and then expect the government to pay that off.”
Jacob Young
Nadia Valles
Kimberly Boles
