Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee appears at a youth luncheon Monday at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Minneapolis -- Ryan Kennedy doesn't fit the norm of someone you'd picture walking around a political convention.
He's not a political insider like many here. He's never ran for public office. Some might even call him a political amateur.
But it's Kennedy's vote -- and that of his friends -- that both Barack Obama and John McCain are targeting hard to get: the youth vote.
Kennedy is part of a growing breed of young Americans concerned with issues such as healthcare and energy policy, not just celebrity gossip and sports scores. He's not a dedicated Democrat or Republican -- and doesn't think people should be forced to associate with one party or the other.
Miles away from the Xcel Center on Monday gathered a room not full of delegates, but that of young voters. They weren't dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, but donning sneakers and texting on their cell phones at a lunch at the Hard Rock cafe.
Why is young America so concerned about this election? Social networking sites have made it a lot easier for candidates to get their message out to younger voters they say. However, young voters don't think that should be the only way candidates reach out to them.
Thom Bork thinks using avenues such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are great tools for candidates to use to reach voters in his demographic, but thinks there's been too much of an emphasis on those being the only ways to connect with younger voters.
"Let's try and attract the young people, so let's do something on Myspace instead of coming to campus and actually speaking to us," Bork said. "The Facebook stuff is great -- we do spend a lot of time on our computers -- but [they shouldn't specifically try] to communicate with people just on Facebook."
It's great to see the parties address the youth vote and our issues, said Lauran Kim, chair of the Student Public Interest Research Group's New Voters Project, a bi-partisan group that's registered more than 600,000 young voters since 2004.
Kennedy said when candidates take the time to come out and acknowkedge that his vote is part of an important constituency, it allows students to connect with candidates better and appreciate their concern with certain issues.
"Without you, we don't get there," said former Republican candidate for president Mike Huckabee, who made a surprise appearance at the lunch. "I want to urge you to not just be active, but phonaticcaly involved."
Huckabee said young voters are going to be more effective in the outcome of this election more than anybody.
"The next president will have more impact on your voters," he said.
The more we see, all the politicians are focusing resources on younger members of the party, said Sujatha Jahagirdar, program director for PIRG.
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Huckabee is exactly the man that I want to see molding the values of our young people. He is certainly someone to admire and someone the Republican Party is very proud of. Huckabee, perhaps more than any of the GOP this year, seemed to be headed in the right direction with his platform and will certainly be a big contender in the future!! Go Huck!!!