Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and former Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) said young voters could have a “huge impact” on the 2024 presidential election, but politicians need to convince them that it’s worth the effort amid a deluge of news.
“I feel like there’s a real opportunity for young voters to have an incredible impact,” Roskam said at “The American Dream of Gen Z: Civic Engagement,” an event hosted by The Hill and A Starting Point that aired Tuesday on Hill TV.
“And when the shine of a candidate’s new face wears off, I think it’s up to the candidate themselves, and the campaign’s responsibility to reach out and tell them why what I’m talking about is important.”
The House veterans spoke on a panel moderated by House reporter Michael Schnell and A Starting Point co-founders Chris Evans and Mark Kassen.
Answering questions from students in the audience, Krishnamoorthi and Roskam also discussed encouraging more youth participation in politics, the need for common sense in the nation’s political debate, and political turmoil.
Krishnamoorthi, who canvassed Wisconsin for Harris last week, said he “feels the enthusiasm” among young voters and predicted turnout could exceed 70% this election, up from 67% in 2020.
“Voter turnout is going to be record-breaking again,” Krishnamoorthi said. “It feels like another election year. You know, in the last election in 2020, 67% of eligible voters turned out, which was a record at the time, and this time we may be approaching 70%.” [percent].”
Roskam and Krishnamoorthi also discussed growing political turmoil in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump, President Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, and increasingly acrimonious political rhetoric.
“I think it can be overwhelming at times, especially for people born within the last 20 years, to say, ‘Wow, this is total panic,'” Roskam said. “Our country has been through a lot. And are we in politically turbulent times? Of course we are. That’s self-evident, and it’s exacerbated by the pace at which we communicate.”
“I think it’s wise to take a step back and say, ‘OK, we can address this and we can make changes here,’ but we need to be aware of it and not be intimidated by it,” he said.
Krishnamoorthi and Roskam added that a group of politicians with an interest in “diffusing” is exacerbating political tensions. Krishnamoorthi also noted that the media is reporting “grenades, not handshakes.”
“When I came to D.C., I felt that way, and Peter probably felt the same way, but I had to decide pretty quickly whether I wanted to be effective or go viral,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“I hope more of my colleagues will pursue that, because then I think it will be a little less divisive,” he added.
Roskam called on attendees to change the way they evaluate politicians.
“We have con artists in Congress because we have an audience that loves con. They’re not measured on performance,” he said. “They’re measured on clicks, they’re measured on likes, they’re measured on social media stamps of approval. So the question is, what do we expect from our leaders? And I think where you can make a difference is by changing your expectations.”
Krishnamoorthi also stressed the importance of building “personal” bipartisan relationships, telling the story of how he and former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) went to the same gym and talked about their shared love of the Cubs, which helped pass a stalled bill on skills-based education.
“So I said, ‘Paul, this isn’t getting a vote. What’s going on?’ And he said, ‘Okay, I’m not allowed to talk about this, but I’ll look into it.’ So he looked into it, found out what the roadblock was, we fixed the language, it got voted on by the House and the Senate, it got signed into law. And it all started with going to the gym,” he said.
“If there’s a key lesson for me, for you, for everyone today, it’s to build relationships,” he said. “Identify your common humanity. Start there and then talk about other things. And if you can do that, you’ll stand the test of partisanship and other things that happen in the atmosphere.”
