Outnumbered young Republicans add energy to GOP convention

CLEVELAND - They were far outnumbered by older New York Republicans attending this week's GOP National Convention, but younger party members from the state were just as optimistic about Donald Trump's chance to win the November election.

Several of the under age 40 group said they expect Trump's unconventional campaign to attract more young voters to the Republican ballot.

“We’re probably in one of the greatest entrepreneurial generations in history,’’ said 23-year-old John Catsimatidis Jr., the state’s youngest delegate to this year's convention and the son of a Manhattan supermarket magnate.

“I mean, if you look at the technology industry, it’s absolutely incredible and a lot of the ideals that the Republicans believe, as far as the economy and fiscal conservatism, are very in line with all millennials, not just conservative millennials,’’ he said.

His father has long supported candidates from both major parties, but Catsimatidis Jr. said he’s at home as a registered Republican. He said New York Republicans are misunderstood because they are “pretty socially moderate, if not liberal’’ while still advocating fiscal conservatism.

Colton Hillman, 19, and Collin Edger, 15, are cousins who grew up Republican in Elmira. Hillman is a member of the College Republicans chapter at Fordham University in the Bronx.

They both are optimistic Trump will attract interest from younger voters.

“There’s interest there, now that the social media makes it hard to stay away from it,’’ Hillman said.

“I think that America is ready for change,’’ said Edger.

John W. Doyle of Shirley was helping delegates and their guests check into the New York delegation’s hotel. The 32-year-old attorney joined the College Republicans while attending the University of Scranton but originally was drawn to the GOP because of his parents’ volunteer work.

He’s currently treasurer for the Suffolk County chapter of Young Republicans, which has 22 active county chapters in the state’s 62 counties. The active chapters operate in the Hudson Valley, all five counties of New York City, Long Island, Broome County, Niagara County and Albany County.

There are no active chapters is places such as Monroe County or Onondaga County, which surround Rochester and Syracuse.

Statewide, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.

“It’s not easy to be a Republican in a blue state,’’ said Jason Weingartner, who aged out of his chairmanship of the Young Republican National Federation when he turned 40 last year. There are about 35,000 members nationally, including 1,200 in New York, Weingartner said.

Young Republicans do have influence, Weingartner said, citing the 130 volunteers from the national organization who spent a weekend in Louisiana working on the 2014 U.S. Senate runoff between Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, which Cassidy won.

And although most Republicans are white, there were a few minorities among the under-40 group in the New York delegation.

About 10 years ago, Scherie Murray, 35, of Laurelton, Queens switched her party registration from Democrat to Republican when she “learned that the Republican Party was started as an anti-slavery movement.’’

Murray is a black Jamaican-American who ran for state Assembly in a heavily Democratic district to raise attention to issues of concern in the African-American community.

“Not only did my opposition take me seriously but they did everything in their power to win the seat, which they did,’’ she said. “But ultimately, the community won because the Democratic Party was pressured to deliver.’’

She said she's not yet ready to support Trump as her party’s candidate.

“To me it’s about substance. Whoever connects with me as a voter is who I would vote for,’’ said Murrray, who voted for Obama in 2012 “because he inspired me as an African-American.’’

Murray said she’s impressed by Trump’s style and the unconventional way he secured the Republican nomination.

Ross Kostecky, 29, an Asian-American born in Hong Kong who grew up in Republican-leaning Wyoming County, now lives in a very Democratic section of Erie County. He’s a Republican candidate for state Assembly in November.

“I am there to provide an alternative so my member of the Assembly doesn’t get just a free ride,’’ said Kostecky, who attended the convention as an alternate delegate.

He thinks Trump has appeal among younger voters.

“He is such a dynamic figure,’’ Kostecky said. “He’s certainly an unconventional figure and it just shows you where the people are right now. They are just fed up and Donald Trump speaks to them.’’