ATLANTA, Ga. — As Georgia gears up for another pivotal election cycle, candidates are ramping up efforts to court one of the most unpredictable blocs: young voters.

Campaigns frequently deploy viral TikTok trends, influencer endorsements and glossy social media campaigns to reach college-aged Georgians. But according to young voters across the political spectrum, politicians are often completely missing the mark.

For many young Georgians, the defining issues aren’t partisan talking points: they are basic kitchen-table realities. Rising grocery bills, soaring off-campus rent and the looming fear of never being able to afford a home top their list of worries.

“You’re worried about how you’re going to pay tuition. You’re worried about how you’re going to afford rent after graduation,” said Kiki Chen, a student at the University of Georgia. “Even in college, you’re worried about where the cheapest place is to find groceries.

“We’re not just tokens that you can just use during campaign season. We want to be heard when you’re elected and stay in those conversations.”

A growing sense of apathy

While many politically active students get involved through campus organizations and internships, they admit getting their peers engaged often feels like an uphill battle.

Victoria Nwankwo of Emory University said much of her peer group has grown disillusioned with elections because they feel promises made on the campaign trail rarely materialize.

“A large portion of my friends or my circle are not that interested in politics or policy,” Nwankwo said. “They’re becoming a little bit jaded, mainly because they feel like they’re not receiving the promises that they heard politicians say or they’re not receiving the things that they had voted for.

“There’s a large portion of my circle that’s becoming very apathetic, unfortunately,” she said.

Cole Rogers, an active young Republican attending Kennesaw State University, has noticed the exact same disconnect among his friends.

“I know a lot of friends that didn’t vote and won’t,” Rogers said. “I’ll ask them if they’re going to vote in the upcoming election, and they say, ‘Probably not. I don’t really know the candidates.’ But I tell them, ‘You always complain about things like gas prices. You need to become informed.’”

The everyday price squeeze

Across ideological divides, the pocketbook crunch is inescapable.

“Prices are high. Can’t find jobs, or you can’t eat, you can’t get gas, can’t go to class because you can’t afford gas to get to class,” Rogers said. “That’s mainly what I hear from my friends, and I completely agree. It’s a struggle. That is one of the main points of contention.”

For young adults looking beyond graduation, homeownership feels increasingly out of reach.

“Being a first-time homeowner, the age keeps going up and up, and some of us are now wondering if we’ll be able to own a home in our lifetime,” Nwankwo said.

Jake Izzo, another conservative student also at Kennesaw State, noted even surviving college rent today requires drastic financial measures.

“Rent is so expensive off campus,” he said. “I know people that specifically take out student loans just to be able to afford rent, and that puts them up in debt. I get worried that I’m not going to be able to afford a house in the future.”

When candidates try to bridge the divide, young voters say the outreach often feels transactional and fleeting.

“At times it can feel more like a marketing strategy than actually sitting down and hearing what young voters are concerned about,” Chen said. “It can feel like politicians are coming towards us only during election season as a last push for us to go to the polls. But once they are elected, we struggle to stay in those conversations.”

Nwankwo echoed that sentiment, cautioning campaigns against substituting genuine policy discussions with trendy internet content.

“Speaking to young people is a lot more important than trying to just seem relatable via social media or using other young famous people as a means of connection to us,” she said. “We are growing as a very important base when it comes to elections and voting. If you don’t take our considerations seriously, or if you do not fit us into your priorities, you likely are not going to have the successful result you want to see.”

Izzo agreed surface-level attempts to be relatable often fall flat.

“Some politicians do use it to connect with younger voters, but I don’t think they do it in a way that’s genuine,” he said.

A message to candidates: Listen or lose

Despite their frustrations, these young voters emphasize that their generation isn’t giving up; they are simply demanding that lawmakers treat them as the future leaders they are.

“We are going to be replacing the older generation,” Izzo said, “and if they don’t listen to us, they’re not going to have our vote.”

For Cole, the message to his peers is simple: show up, regardless of party affiliation.

“Young voters, please go vote,” Cole said. “It doesn’t have to be a Republican. It doesn’t have to be a Democrat. It could be a Libertarian, it could be an independent. It doesn’t matter who it is, just someone whose policies you closely align with. At the end of the day, it’s just very important to get your voice heard.”

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