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Politics & Government

Young Republicans Pitch In at Caucus

Students help out by doing set-up work, directing traffic.

More than 400 people turned up at Rosemount High School on Tuesday to participate in the Republican caucuses for District 37B, including voting in the straw poll of the Republican presidential candidates.

But that's not why Dylan Mato was there. Mato, a Rosemount High School student and member of the school's Young Republicans Club, does not turn 18 until Nov. 10, days after the general election, so he could not vote in the straw poll, or participate in other caucus activities.

“I'm four days away,” he said of barely missing the cut for being able to vote in this year's election.

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But that didn't stop Mato from being part of a group of four members of the Young Republicans to show up and help out on caucus night.

At the direction of Jerry Ewing, House 37B caucus chair, they taped up letters from candidates, taped signs to the rooms that would later be used for precinct meetings and handed out maps of the school to help caucus-goers find their precinct. Then, when the time came, all but Mato headed off to their own precincts to participate in caucusing.

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“I come from kind of a conservative family,” said Eric LaPree, another of the Young Republicans. “(The Young Republicans) was something I was interested in already that they suggested, and I just showed up my sophomore year.”

LaPree said most high school students are indifferent to the political process, but that among those who are involved they're evenly divided between the two main parties.

“A lot of people are uninvolved,” he said. “For the teems who are political, I think (Republicans) are a slight majority from what I've seen.”

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