Democrats are targeting 14 seats in the House of Delegates, hoping to flip from red to blue. A handful of those districts have colleges and universities.
Will college students help Democrats expand their majority in the House of Delegates? That's the strategy for students at Virginia Tech, Virginia State and the College of William and Mary, all of which are in districts with Republican incumbents that Democrats are targeting. A few weeks ago, House Speaker Don Scott added a new targeted district in Harrisonburg, where a Republican represents the campus of James Madison University.
"It's the kind of school that you would think could produce a lot of extra votes for Democrats if you spent time to work it," says Democratic strategist Ben Tribbett. "Harrisonburg is dramatically more Democratic than Rockingham County that surrounds it. And so, exploring whether or not you could get higher turnout there – it’s this spectacular investment."
But relying on college kids to mobilize voters outside of a presidential year might not work as well as Democrats might think, says Republican strategist Jeff Ryer.
"The problem that they have with this particular strategy is this is not a mid-term year. This is a gubernatorial year," Ryer says. "So, the odds of being able to get the colleges to turn out at a higher level than the district as a whole are greatly reduced."
Turnout in presidential years is usually around 70% in Virginia, but turnout in gubernatorial years is closer to 50%. Early voting starts next month.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
