Young Voters Turn Out In Waves For Colorado Caucuses
By Stan Bush
DENVER (CBS4) - Tuesday's Colorado caucuses are unlikely to settle who will represent the parties in the race for governor, but they are a good indication of who will be on the ground fighting for the candidates. The answer, an unprecedented amount of young voters in a midterm.
"Sometimes I feel a little strange. I feel like a lot of people look at me as someone apathetic, but at the same time people listen to what you have to say," says Cidney Fisk, a University of Denver sophomore who attended a Democratic precinct. "All the activists before me didn't do everything they did so I can sit at home and not participate in democracy, so I'm not going to waste my right to do this."
Democrats are hoping young voters participate in droves as the party hopes to retain the governor's mansion, gain power in the state legislature, and flip the levers of power in Congress.
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"People are recognizing that if they didn't get involved in the last election, now is the time to do it," said Sarah Carlson, a 25 year-old caucusing for Mike Johnston's bid for governor.
Replublicans are also looking for young energy. Alex Inscoe, 23, is a precinct captain in Jefferson County.
"I want to go into politics. I enjoy it. It's something that needs to be taken care of. Like I keep saying, we're the future leaders of America. You know what? I'm going to keep fighting for what I believe in and what is right," said Inscoe.
Carlson says young volunteers are disproving many of the beliefs people have about millennials being lazy and apathetic about politics.
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"I think now a lot of students are rising up like we see in Parkland, DREAMers, and walkouts. ... I think it's changing."
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.