PHILADELPHIA – North Carolina is known for championship college basketball and good barbecue. But the state also hosts a rich congregation of young Democrats optimistic about turning their purple state blue in November.
More than 35 percent of the North Carolina delegates attending this week’s Democratic National Convention are between 18 and 35.
The Young Democrats of North Carolina organization does lots of door-knocking and phone-calling, but many members also are running for or serving in elected office around the state.
Jessica Holmes, 31, is the youngest Wake County commissioner in history and a longtime young Democrat serving as a Hillary Clinton delegate at the convention, which ended Thursday. She said her most important role is mentoring other young Democrats.
“I wanted to be a part of a movement to make sure that my ideals that I hold dear are reflected in the policies within the state,” Holmes said. “I was brought in by people who mentored me and supported me, and that is what I plan to do with young Democrats now.”
The Democratic Party, already dominant among voters in the 18-35 age range, saw the proportion of younger members rise this year due to the influence of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ candidacy for the party’s nomination.
About 40 percent of the state’s convention delegation consists of Sanders delegates, but those members say they’re committed to rallying around Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“At the end of the day, we have a common goal: making sure Donald Trump gets nowhere near the Oval Office,” Holmes said of the Republican nominee.
John Easterling, 19 and a sophomore at UNC Greensboro, said he was inspired to enter politics by then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Easterling serves on the national board of College Democrats of America and the state board of N.C. Young Democrats. He works across the state to spread the Democratic message, especially to other young African-American men.
“As a young black man from a small town in North Carolina, it is great to be here, and it is such a surreal experience,” he said of his time at the convention.
Members of the Young Democrats group said they held fundraisers to help make sure no North Carolina delegate was unable to make it to Philadelphia.
“We carpooled up here,” Justin Conley, former president of the group, said. “Whatever it took to make sure … our very young delegation would be represented.”
Group members said they weren’t discouraged by clashes during the convention’s first days between Clinton delegates and Sanders delegates. Many hardcore followers of the “political revolution” started by Sanders feel betrayed by how they say establishment Democrats, including the Clinton campaign, have treated their candidate.
“The goal is always to bring more people into the party, and Sen. Sanders did that,” Conley said. “We all agree, despite our different preferences in primary candidates, that young people in North Carolina need a voice in this party, and that is what we are here to do.”
This story first appeared in the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times.