The Voice of the New Generation
The election of 2008 got the youth involved more than ever. Young people, such as myself, have never had a major voice in a presidential election as much as they had in this one.
This is a sign that the new generation will be one that really works on making progress on the problems of the world. A college student by the name of Tyler Holmes is taking the role as the voice of the new generation. Holmes ran for the Kansas State House of Representatives this election at the age of only 18.
Tyler Holmes graduated from my high school, Blue Valley North, last year, and now is a freshman at the University of Kansas.
Holmes ran for the Kansas state house against Republican incumbent Pat Colloton, and though Holmes was defeated (the district he ran in is heavily Republican) he established himself as the main political voice of the new generation. His story is very inspirational to any young person who is interested in politics.
Tyler’s story is one of over-coming the odds, and following your dreams. Tyler followed his dream of going into politics and making a difference in this world and he managed to run a great campaign and get his name known for future elections.
Though Holmes never expected to win his race, him and his supporters tried the hardest they could to get as many votes as they could. If you were driving through the district where Holmes was running you couldn’t drive more than 5 minutes without seeing a “Tyler Holmes for State Rep.” road sign. Countless cars had the “Tyler Holmes 08″ bumper sticker on their back. The halls of Blue Valley North High School were covered in stickers shouting support for the school’s alumni. Holmes even had a televised debate with his opponent.
Holmes promised to work to get Kansas to expand its Wind Energy programs, and to have the state become a leader in developing alternative energies and ending the addiction to oil. As well as focus on improving education by focusing on the individual students interests and talents rather than on testing.
His story is very inspirational, the fact that an 18 year-old college freshman can get so close to being elected shows that miracles do happen, and that the voice of America’s youth is starting to be heard.
Though he was defeated on election night, Holmes is not done with politics. This was just a trial run, to see how Tyler could handle it, and to get his name out there. Expect to see Tyler Holmes run in future elections.
Tyler Holmes,18, ran as a Democrat for The Kansas House of Rep.
I write for a paper called ’The North Star’ and in one of the past issues there is a great article written by my fellow staff-writer Abby Fromm about Holmes i urge you to read it. Here is the link: http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/BVN_LMC/Website/Oct.%20Issue/Pages/ready%20for%20gilman/sent/page%202.pdf
Comment and let me know what you think,
-Andy
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