Brilyn Hollyhand, a 19-year-old conservative influencer, had just finished fielding questions from a room full of voting-age high school and college students in Ohio when he pulled out his phone to deliver a sharp warning to the Republican Party.
“If Republicans focus on everything except the economy going into November, we deserve to lose the midterms,” Hollyhand, former co-chair of the RNC’s youth council, said in a video posted to X and Instagram. “Gen Z doesn’t care about cultural-war wins. We don’t care about 20-point policy papers. We want solutions.”
In interviews with MS NOW, young conservative leaders echoed similar concerns about how cost-of-living frustrations — including soaring gas prices, elevated interest rates and an uncertain job market — could affect the voting group. Others are concerned about the U.S. conflict with Iran, which some described as a betrayal of Trump’s campaign vow to pursue “America First” policies.
The warning signs are real.
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