Young Voters for the President was an entity created by Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign for President of the United States to mobilize youth voters in support of Nixon's reelection.[1]

Richard Nixon won 52 percent of "under 30" voters in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.

As of March 1972, only 22 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 identified with the Republican Party.[1] Young Voters for the President was created by public relations consultant Ken Rietz, whose plan for capturing the support of younger voters for the Republican Party in the 1972 presidential election was brought to the attention of the White House by United States Senator Bill Brock.[2] Rietz was subsequently hired as director of the new group, leading a full-time staff of 120 persons, plus what was claimed to be 400,000 volunteers.[2] Pam Powell, a 24-year-old Nixon supporter and the daughter of actor Dick Powell, was retained as chair of the group, becoming its public face.[2][3][lower-alpha 1]

Rietz identified that young voters were enthusiastic about some of Nixon's policies – such as ending military conscription – but ambivalent about the president himself and he, therefore, embarked on an effort to bridge the gap between the two.[2] Rietz also determined that non-college youth were more likely to support Nixon than college-enrolled youth and that the former group significantly outnumbered the latter.[2][5] Outreach efforts by Young Voters for the President have been credited with helping Nixon capture 48 percent of 18 to 24 year-old voters, and 52 percent of under 30 voters, in the 1972 presidential contest.[1][6] Nixon ultimately won that election with roughly 61-percent of the popular vote and 97-percent of the electoral vote.[7]

Hunter S. Thompson wrote extensively about Nixon's youth base and was, according to Boston University's Seth Blumenthal, known to have "despised them".[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Powell later worked as Director for Youth Affairs during the presidency of Gerald Ford.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Blumenthal, Seth (2015). "Children of the "Silent Majority": Richard Nixon's Young Voters for the President, 1972". Journal of Policy History. 27 (2): 337–363. doi:10.1017/S0898030615000068. S2CID 154473061.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McGee, Henry (October 24, 1972). "The GOP Strategy: Organizing Nixon Youth From the Top Down, Rietz Now Has 200,000 Student Volunteers". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ Clifford, Garry (March 15, 1976). "Mom and Dad Became Famous in Hollywood, but Pam Powell Gets Star Billing in Washington". People magazine. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Pamela A. Powell files, 1973–76". fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ Thimmesch, Nick (August 1, 1972). "Figures Discount Claim – Youth a Democrat Bloc?". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ Jaeger, Carl (November 4, 2008). "A History Of The Youth Vote". CBS News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ "United States presidential election of 1972". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ Helms, Derek. "Seth Blumenthal ("Children of the Silent Majority") Q & A". University Press of Kansas. University of Kansas. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
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