Today and tomorrow will mark a historic milestone for the Republican Party: the first-ever midterm election convention, to be held in Dallas. President Donald Trump will headline the event, rightfully tout his accomplishments, and rally his party to hold the line against Democrats in November. But as we think about winning the next election, we also need to think seriously about who will lead the party in the years ahead, especially in Congress.
Young voters hate Congress, and the distaste is bipartisan. Congressional Democrats beat Congressional Republicans in <a href="https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/52nd-edition-spring-2026">approval</a> among voters under 30 by just one point, 26% to 25. Yet the Left enjoys political momentum with this demographic. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become one of America’s <a href="https://yougov.com/en-us/ratings/politicians">most popular</a> political figures. Zohran Mamdani has popularized socialism among a new generation of voters in New York, while Abdul El-Sayed is trying to build a similar movement in Michigan. The top two candidates <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/">raising the most money</a> so far this year are Jon Ossoff in Georgia and James Talarico in Texas. They are all millennials.
I fundamentally disagree with the policies and vision these far-left politicians offer. But I’m more than happy to argue with liberals. What disappoints me is watching Republicans criticize them without asking why they have been so successful in the first place, and doing nothing to counter it.
The Left understands that movements need effective messengers. They find young candidates, invest in them, and rally around those who connect with voters. Republicans need to get much better at doing the same.
I say that from experience. I served in President Trump’s first administration and have run for Congress myself. On the campaign trail, some of my most encouraging conversations were with seniors who wanted to see a new generation step forward and lead. That talent exists, but too often our political system makes it unnecessarily difficult for new voices to break through.
Instead, consultants put lipstick on the same old establishment pig, recycling candidates who are part of the very system voters are frustrated with. We forget a fundamental truth: the reason someone runs for office usually tells you a lot about how they will govern.
We should be looking for young, new people motivated by something larger than themselves, people who see public office not as the prize, but as a temporary position of trust. The goal shouldn’t be to manufacture more politicians. It should be to find leaders who would rather accomplish something meaningful than simply become someone important.
Those are the people we need to hear from. The conservatives who can win over younger voters are those who share their concerns: struggling to buy their first homes, start families, build businesses, and achieve the basic milestones that once defined the American Dream. A generation has watched the cost of living rise while the institutions meant to serve them feel increasingly disconnected from their lives.
That vacuum has created an opening for the Democratic Socialists of America. They speak directly to the frustration young Americans are feeling. They tell them the system isn&#8217;t working for you, and we’re the solution. The problem is that their prescription is more of what helped create the disease: bigger government, more spending, more regulation, and more government control.
The irony is that many of the same young people adopting a fashionable hatred of capitalism are surrounded every day by its benefits. They sip lattes from the backseat of an Uber while scrolling social media on an iPhone, all made possible by a free market that lets entrepreneurs take risks, investors to supply capital, and businesses to compete. Precisely because our free-enterprise system is so successful, we often forget how extraordinary its achievements are.
But we cannot take them for granted. President Trump understood this and has pursued an economic agenda to cut taxes and regulation, unleash American energy, encourage investment and manufacturing at home, reduce the size and cost of government, and make it easier for Americans to build, hire and create. It’s a free-market philosophy built around economic freedom, entrepreneurship, strong families, private property, and the opportunity to build a better life through your own work and ingenuity. This is how we show young Americans who feel their dreams slipping away that they can find a path to prosperity without the chains of socialism.
To communicate this message, we do not need to manufacture a “Republican AOC.” But Republicans need to accept that politics has changed and our approach to finding candidates needs to change with it. Younger Americans want leaders who sound like real people and have the courage to say what they believe. They want to know what a candidate is fighting for, not simply what they are fighting against.
To find those people, Republicans should look beyond the traditional political pipeline and take chances on people with different backgrounds and experiences. When someone demonstrates the ability to connect with voters and communicate our values, we should invest in them early through mentorship, infrastructure, training, and fundraising. If we make them spend 20 years climbing the political ladder, or encourage the wrong candidates to run, we shouldn’t be surprised when we end up with a government that feels increasingly inauthentic and disconnected from the people it is supposed to represent.
President Trump understood that millions of voters were desperate for someone who sounded different, fought differently, and was willing to challenge a political establishment they no longer trusted. As the president runs the show in Dallas this week, helping chart the course for the party he transformed, Republicans should remember the power of his example and look for more leaders willing to break the mold.
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Catalina Lauf is a former Trump administration official, entrepreneur and former Trump-endorsed congressional candidate. She is the author of “Time to Choose.”

Trump voters in Fletcher, North Carolina.

How The GOP Can Reclaim The American Dream For The Next Generation Of Voters

alexandria ocasio-cortez

democratic socialism

donald trump

politics

republican party

young voters

For Maria, now a U.S. citizen, seeing armed men patrolling her street while growing up in her home country of Guatemala was not uncommon. In fact, it was the norm.
It was 1970 and Guatemala was at the height of its infamous civil war. The beautiful “Land of Eternal Spring” was rapidly becoming the land of eternal unrest. Fighting between the left-wing rebels and government forces had begun just ten years earlier, dragging the country into turmoil, with violence haunting rural communities and cities alike.
In 1980, a young man named Philip visited Guatemala on his first trip to Central America. While conflict remained, Guatemala&#8217;s economy continued to survive, relying on commodities, exports, and tourism, and Philip was keen to explore the country between business meetings. After choosing which tour to join, he met his guide for the day, Maria.
Stepping on a public bus, Philip and Maria embarked on their journey. As they were leaving the city, the bus came to a screeching halt. Armed soldiers climbed aboard, and demanded that every male passenger exit the vehicle and line up against a wall outside. Philip, who could not distinguish between the uniforms of government forces or a guerrilla group, was left wondering whether this was a militia firing squad. Reacting to Philip&#8217;s obvious feelings of confusion and fear, Maria calmly said, “Oh, don’t be worried, this is just routine.” For an American man who grew up in a safe, quaint neighborhood in Chicago, experiencing such a “routine” was quite the culture shock.
This true story occurred during the 36 year-long civil war which was fought from 1960 to 1996. Unfortunately, not much has changed. Crimes of murder, extortion, and kidnapping continue to plague many Latin American nations. Countries like Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico — rich in climate, culture, and geographical grandeur — are riddled with economic inequality, corruption, and violence. According to the <a href="https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Citizen-Security-in-Latin-America-Facts-and-Figures.pdf">Agape Institute</a>, a nonpartisan think tank, Latin America leads the world when it comes to the prevalence of crime. Law enforcement is both under-resourced and — at times — corrupt, fueling public distrust in institutions, judicial processes, and the political system. As a result, it’s no surprise that 44% of those who emigrate to the United States are of Hispanic/Latino origin.
The term “political refugee” is one radical Leftists like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez like to use as a talking point to condone illegal immigration. But how can such people claim to empathize with those who flee to the United States to escape crime in their home countries when they also fail to empathize with the victims of crime here in the United States? Moreover, why do they refuse to condemn the violence ravaging cities across America when many of the victims are immigrants who came to the United States to escape violence? How can they claim to be providing refugees and immigrants alike with a safe haven from violence when they refuse to prioritize safety for their own constituents by echoing their radical supporters’ cries to defund the police?
In many ways, America appeals to immigrants in the same way that the suburbs appeal to American families. Both stand as an opportunity to live in safe and secure communities, where people of all colors, religions, ethnicities, and creeds can work, feed their families, and be at peace.
With the continued rise of violent protests in recent weeks, many Americans are experiencing a real threat to public safety across our country. Hispanic-Americans who have grown up in countries like Mexico and Guatemala know this reality all too well. They do not want the United States to become like the countries they left in much the same way as suburbanites who don’t want their quaint suburbs to turn into the failed Democratic cities they left.
In the wake of continued violent riots, it&#8217;s crucial to acknowledge the negative impact crime has on the economy. According to a recent Pew Research <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/11/hispanic-voters-say-economy-health-care-and-covid-19-are-top-issues-in-2020-presidential-election/">poll</a>, the economy is the most important issue for Hispanic voters as we approach November’s election. Such a finding is hardly surprising. Many Hispanics are entrepreneurial. They own small-businesses. They work in industries ranging from hospitality to agriculture. GDP among U.S. latinos <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/25/latinos-may-be-the-key-to-future-us-economic-growth-study-argues.html">increased</a> to $2.3 trillion in 2017. While we focus on the short-term economic impact of COVID-19, we risk ignoring the long-term danger: the explosion of crime across the country.
Many states have suffered millions of dollars worth of damage due to the violence. Livelihoods have been destroyed, including many minority-owned businesses. Tragically, some may never be able to recover. What happens when you are in an unsafe community? Companies start to leave. Families begin to move out. Economic opportunity dries up. The standard of living decreases, and crime rates go up. Soon, beneath an irreversible cycle of damage, these areas begin to look like the third world countries many immigrants chose to leave.
Whether at the border or in quiet American suburbs, a fundamental Republican principle is the importance of law and order. Like all Americans, Hispanic-Americans value this principle, especially those who fled violence for the promise of safety and opportunity in the United States of America. As President Trump and his administration speak of suppressing violence, providing resources for law enforcement, and creating an economic environment that will allow all Americans to thrive, the Democrats continue to show that they have any intention of quelling the violence. With such a stark contrast, Democrats are losing Latinos, and fast.
For those wondering what happened to Maria and Philip, the pair on the bus: Through chaos, there is always opportunity. Maria and Philip fell in-love that fateful day and will celebrate over 30 years of marriage this October. As my father likes to say: it was “one hell of a first date.” Let&#8217;s hope that the idea of America sought by Maria and so many others continues to shine as a beacon of hope and opportunity for years to come.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Catalina Lauf

How The GOP Can Reclaim The American Dream For The Next Generation Of Voters

LAUF: Why Democrats Are Losing Latinos