National Campaigns Attract Local Youth - WMBB News 13 - The Panhandle's News Leader

We're just 5 months out from Election Day and in Bay County, both parties are doing what they can to win your vote. There are even campaign offices open for candidates on a national level.   

Phone calls--- they're the driving force behind two candidates who want to be your next president. It's also the job that hundreds are volunteering to do on a daily basis. "We're just staying active, calling people and getting them re-energized". Patricia Byrd, an Obama Campaign volunteer says.

With Obama and Romney offices open in the Panhandle, the focus is now on you--- the voter. On Monday, volunteers picked up the phone to solidify more votes and a majority of those making the calls are our youth.

"We have young people involved, they were here on Saturday and were making telephone calls and they made almost 800 calls that day." Bobby Roberts the Co-Chairman of the Bay County Romney Campaign says this aspect has been missing for some time.

By getting more involved with the process, the group can target a larger demographic. "At this stage of the game, we're far more successful than we've been in the past, which to me, only lends to greater success down the road." Roberts says.

Statistics show, the youth was part of the reason Obama won in 2008 and it's an incentive for Patricia Byrd and her team to work harder. "The future is about our youth. They're the ones that a lot of this will affect in the future. This affects health insurance for them, this affects retirement for them, this affects pay for them and this affects pay for them."

But Roberts says the youth can't trust Obama's promises anymore. "Those young people that were involved the last time will realize that hope and change just doesn't happen, you have to make it happen, and it hasn't happened."

Roberts also says Romney's visit to the Panhandle back in January will also help voters to connect with him. "We're important enough, that he actually came here, and people haven't forgotten that and those people that met him were obviously impressed with him."