Can we read anything into high school mock elections?
President Barack Obama
Mitt Romney. Photo by Gage Skidmore.
Enough of this campaign already! We here at the Blue Ridge Caucus are eager to see some results! And, fortunately, we some to chew over.
Kinda.
The high school mock election season has begun. So far, we have the results from one — at James River High School in Botetourt County.
What can we read into this? Well, let’s see.
As reported over on our Botetourt County community news site, James River students voted overwhelming for Mitt Romney over Barack Obama.
Specifically, Romney took 62.8% of the vote.
So much for the youth vote going strong for Obama, you might say? Well, let’s remember that Botetourt County is a heavily Republican county. Now, there’s no guarantee that kids will vote the same way their parents do. On the other hand, there’s the old saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” — and Botetourt used to be a big apple-growing county. (Nowadays, most of those orchards are turned into subdivisions with apple names.)
So how does Romney’s 62.8% vote at James River compare?
Well, four years ago, John McCain took 65.9% of the vote in Botetourt County — so were this an actual vote, we’d say that Romney was running about even with the Republican vote four years ago.
It’s not an actual vote, of course. But there you have it.
And for what it’s worth, in the Senate race, James River students voted for Republican George Allen over Democrat Tim Kaine — but Allen’s 58.7% of the vote was a bit below Romney’s margin. Six years ago, Allen took 64% of the actual vote in Botetourt County in his losing race against Democrat Jim Webb.
What, if anything, might this portend?
– Dwayne Yancey
(And if other schools have results of their mock elections, we’d love to hear them! You can email us at dwayne.yancey@roanoke.com.)
October 5, 2012 - 5:01 PM
Probably brain washed by their Republican parents.
I prefer the 7-11 election!
My son’s AP government class at PH took the Pew political typology quiz:
http://www.people-press.org/typology/quiz/
He has not fallen far from the tree.
Not brainwashed, it’s just inevitable that children will develop perspectives that guide their choices and actions as adults based on what they learn, observe, and experience in their formative years. And that’s why I fear for the future. Not because of a high deficit or thawing permafrost, but because so many children are growing up in environments where hatred and “othering” and contempt is what they learn, observe, and experience in their formative years. A house divided.
I suppose that their parents can’t discern lies nor do they care that the GOP wants to take away the money they have invested in things like social security and Medicare/ Medicaid. Much of that for their children.
Four years ago they probably had no idea who GWB is, or how Hussein got into office. All they’ve heard is Hussein is bad for years. If Romney gets elected, they will say the same thing about him in four years. I’m half way convinced it’s cyclical against whomever is in office.
Don, hilarious comment, especially in light of the Howard Stern’s Show interviews of Harlem voters. If anyone’s brainwashed, it’s not the students at James River.
#2 I wonder if pammala took the Obama cups out of “her” 7-11′s.
No.
#9 So I’ not the only one who knows?