Thursday April 23, 2009

Pundits have different ideas about which voting blocs could turn this fall's governor's race to one party or the other, but Republican Bob McDonnell is making an early push for the youth vote.

McDonnell's daughter Cailin is the director of his campaign's youth outreach efforts. On Thursday night she addressed about a dozen high school and college republicans in Charlottesville, a group she has a lot in common with.

"I'm still just starting to pay all my college loans and all that kind of stuff," Cailin says. "I know what they're going through and so I try to relate with them that way."

The second of McDonnell's five kids, Cailin is canvassing the state, trying to convince college students to vote for her dad. She says many of those kids just voted for Barack Obama and her play to get them to switch parties is simple.

"When they graduate college, what are they going to do? You know, the economy, jobs...those are the most important things and my dad understands that having five kids, putting them through college," she says. "What's going on with the economy and things like that...he is worried about our future."

Beyond making speeches like the one Thursday in Charlottesville, Cailin says she's got a plan to spread the campaign's message to young voters.

"We want to hit every college campus," she explains. "Once everyone moves in we're going to be doing a big move-in push on college campuses, you know, people out in there McDonnell shirts, moving freshmen, talking why Bob McDonnell is the best candidate for governor."

In a state that's gone from red to purple and now is threatening to turn blue, Cailin says it's time for Republicans to stem the tide.

"This is the election that starts to do it. This is the election that needs to do it and my dad is the one that can do it."

A big way they hope to do it is through some of the same high-tech means Barack Obama used so effectively. Cailin says her dad will be tweeting on Twitter, they'll be texting, Facebooking; anything they can to connect with those younger voters.

For more information on the McDonnell campaign, go to http://bobmcdonnell.com/.