College Republicanism:
The Republican Party That College Students Want
Stephen Richer
Project Proposal
3/1/2009
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 3
2. RESEARCH QUESTION ........................................................................................................................ 4
3. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................................................... 5
4. QUALIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 6
5. RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................................................. 7
6. DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................... 9
7. COSTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
8. APPENDIX A .......................................................................................................................................... 12
9. APPENDIX B .......................................................................................................................................... 14
10. APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................................................ 15
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I. Executive Summary
In the 2008 Presidential Election the Republican Party suffered losses in a number of
demographic groups. The previously contested youth vote favored the Democratic Party by an
overwhelming margin of two to one. Similarly, the Republican Party gave up ground among the
college educated. In 2004, more college graduates voted for President Bush than John Kerry. But
in 2008, 53 percent of graduates and 58 percent of those with postgraduate degrees voted
Democrat. This study examines the intersection of these two populations—18 to 29 year olds in
college or with a degree—and their relationship with the Republican Party. I term this
demographic “college students.”
As noted by Karl Rove in a recent Newsweek article, the Republican Party “must regain
ground among critical voting groups.” College students and recent college students represent one
of these critical groups. Although they make up only approximately 12 percent of the voting
population, college students are the future leaders and political thinkers; they are active and
vociferous campaigners, and voting behavior studies show that the college years are pivotal in
determining future party affiliation. Finally, the college student demographic is increasingly
important simply because more and more Americans are going to college. In 1985, 27.8 percent
of Americans went to college. In 2005, only 20 years later, nearly 39 percent of 18 to 24-year-
olds had either completed college or were enrolled in a degree granting institution. If the
Republican Party is losing college voters, it will only lose more in the years to come.
This study will try to determine how the Republican Party can improve its standing with
college students. By making detailed inquiries into the political opinions of a large number of
students, the study will learn exactly what is liked and disliked about the Party. From this survey,
changes can be made to Republican platforms and rhetoric to make the Party more appealing to
college students and thereby secure the Party’s future.
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II. Research Question
This project will survey a large number of students about their attitudes toward the
Republican Party. It will uncover what policies are most important to college students and how
well the Party has managed these issues. Only by understanding these opinions can the
Republican Party know exactly how to change itself in substance and style to win broader appeal
among this important demographic. The results of this study will contribute to the growing field
of literature meant to rebuild and reform the Republican Party, but it will do so from the unique
and important perspective of the college student.
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III. Background and Significance
It is typical for parties to reexamine themselves after electoral defeat. The current
Republican Party is no exception; thousands of articles and numerous books have been written
about rebuilding the Party since the pivotal 2006 Congressional elections and 2008 presidential
election. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a number of speakers made
presentations with titles such as “Conservatism 2.0” or “Timeless Principles, New Challenges:
The Future of the Conservative Movement.” Such exercises are certainly worthwhile—just as the
“unexamined life is not worth living,” so the unexamined party is not worth being in.
Yet of the many different rebuilding proposals, very few are driven by data. Mike
Huckabee bases his defense of social conservatism on instinct and personal observation; Mickey
Edwards’ book Reclaiming Conservatism is rooted in political philosophy and his time spent in
Congress. By contrast, the conclusions reached in this survey will be founded on data that
accurately expresses the sentiment of one segment of America.
The existing literature on rebuilding the Republican Party has also yet to address the
specific preferences of college students—an increasingly important demographic. According to
the “impressionable years” hypothesis, most Americans set their partisan affiliations between
ages 18 to 24 and rarely change parties afterward. If voters are lost to the Democratic Party while
in college, they are probably lost for life.
College students are also important because they are the future leaders and strategists. If
young Republicans are not developed in college, they will be far behind their Democratic
counterparts in terms of idea-swapping and political networking. Finally, the increasingly large
body of college students is important because of the role they play in campaigns—the readiness
with which college students can commit time and energy makes them ideal foot soldiers.
Without an in-depth study of the preferences of college students, it will be impossible for
the Republican Party to adapt to win their support. If the Republican Party does not win the
support of college campuses, its future will suffer.
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IV. Qualifications
As a graduate student at the University of Chicago I prepared myself to undertake survey
projects. I enrolled in several classes on research methodology, worked on a large psychology
study, and conducted a questionnaire as part of my master’s thesis on the politics of New
Orleans. At the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, I continue to learn
about the research process, and I have received assistance from several top public policy scholars
in the formation of my ideas and methodology.
The political attitudes of college students is a topic which I am particularly well-suited to
study. I am 23 years-old; it has been less than a year since I left my graduate program, and while
in school, I played an active role in campus political organizations. As such, I am still highly
attuned to campus politics. My proximity to college will also facilitate the survey’s
administration. A number of my former teachers and friends have agreed to help me distribute
the survey at their respective schools.
In the past months, I have familiarized myself with the existing literature on the politics
of young voters, the college educated, and especially college students. I looked at numerous
studies conducted by organizations such as the Rock the Vote Project and The Center for
Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE), and I have read classic
political science texts on voting behavior such as The American Voter. I am also staying current
with the many plans for reforming the Republican Party. Foremost among these are the
newspaper articles written by political luminaries such as David Brooks and Newt Gingrich,
Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again by David Frum; Reclaiming Conservatism by
Mickey Edwards, and Grand New Party by Ross Douthat and Reiham Salam. I will continue to
study this material, and I will seek out additional advice for my survey design and
administration.
I hope this project will reveal interesting new details about the relationship between
college students and the Republican Party and also contribute to the growing study of youth
politics.
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V. Research Design
To understand the relationship between college students and the Republican Party, it will
be necessary to survey a large number of students from a variety of colleges. I hope to survey 90
students from 50 different colleges (4500 students). School selection will be diversified
according to the following factors: geography, public/private, research/liberal arts/community
college, religious/non-sectarian, and how competitive the admissions process is. I will choose a
group of schools that is reflective of the college student population at large (I will select more
public schools than private schools because more students attend public schools).
Surveys will be administered by “tabeling” in student centers or main university
buildings. I will sit at a table and ask passing students to participate in a short survey in
exchange for a king-size candy bar. For this methodology to be random, it assumes two things.
The first is that students in the university center are representative of the larger student body, and
secondly, that students with a liking for candy bars (and therefore more inclined to take the
survey), are politically representative of the student body. I will refrain from mentioning politics
when asking students to participate; otherwise, this would create a selection bias in favor of
students that are interested and active in politics. Permission to conduct this survey will be
negotiated at each individual school.
I considered two other survey options—having teachers administer the survey in class
and mailing the survey to randomly selected students. The in-class version ensures a high
response rate, but the results would over-represent students of a particular discipline, depending
on whether the surveyed group is a biology, anthropology, or political science class.
Furthermore, teachers are not ordinarily allowed to survey their students. The other option,
mailing surveys to randomly selected students would yield a perfectly randomized sample
population, but it would require obtaining a list of students and their mailing addresses,
information that most colleges are not likely to provide. This methodology would also suffer
from a low response rate, and it would be expensive due to postage. For these reasons, I have
elected the “tabling” method described above.
Administration of the survey will take part in phases. I will poll two schools and wait for
the results to return prior to testing any other schools. In this way, I will learn of any necessary
changes before it becomes too costly. The second phase will test four schools, and the third
phase will survey the rest of the selected schools. Different versions of the survey will rearrange
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the policy issues to ensure that there is no ordering bias. The survey will take approximately 7
minutes to complete.
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VI. Data Analysis
The survey is meant to discern what college students like and dislike about the
Republican Party. The results will be grouped by a number of different independent variables
including school, type of school, and geographic region. Most importantly, however, the results
will be categorized by partisanship and attitude toward the Republican Party. In this way, it will
be determined whether moderates and independents appreciate different aspects of the
Republican Party than do those who already identify with the Party. It is moderates,
independents, and libertarians that the survey will pay particular attention to because they are the
keys to expanding the Republican Party among college voters.
Hypothetical Data Presentation:
COLLEGE A
Policy Issue Importance Score Republican Performance Score
Issue 9.3 4.5
Issue 8.9 6.8
Issue 8.6 6.2
Issue 8.4 3.1
Issue 7.2 3.3
Issue 7.1 9.5
Issue 6.8 8.7
Issue 4.2 7.7
Issue 3.1 5.3
Issue 2.7 4.2
Southern
Schools
Policy Issue Importance Score Republican Performance Score
Issue 9.7 7.2
Issue 9.2 6.1
Issue 8.8 9.2
Issue 8.2 3.9
Issue 7 6.3
Issue 6.8 4.5
Issue 6.6 8.5
Issue 4.4 7.9
Issue 3.3 5.5
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Issue 2.9 4.4
Political
Independents
Policy Issue Importance Score Republican Performance Score
Issue 9.3 4.5
Issue 8.9 6.8
Issue 8.6 6.2
Issue 8.4 3.1
Issue 7.2 3.3
Issue 7.1 9.5
Issue 6.8 8.7
Issue 4.2 7.7
Issue 3.1 5.3
Issue 2.7 4.2
The same will be done for each independent variable grouping. In this way, it will be
easy to understand which policy issues are most important to the different groups, and how they
perceive the Republican Party to be performing on the different issues.
Data on the opinions of different Republican leaders will be averaged and broken into
different independent variable groupings as done in the above tables. For the open response
questions, I will look for trends and popular responses.
Survey results will be tracked and averaged using a statistical software package such as
STATA or SPSS. All data will double-entered to ensure accuracy.
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VIII. Costs
Number of schools to be included in survey = 50
Number of students at each school to be surveyed = 90
Total number of students surveyed = 4,500
Cost per incentive (king size candy bar) = $1.00
Incentive costs for all students (1 X 5,000) = $4,500
Travel and administration costs per school (includes housing) = $150
Total travel costs (50 X 150) = $7,500
Number of pages per survey = 2
Total number of survey pages (2 X 4,500) = 10,000
Total photocopying costs (0.10 X 10,000) = $900.00
Salary of principal investigator = $01
Overhead (at 5%) = $645.00
Total Cost:
Incentives ($4,500.00)
+ Travel/Administration ($7,500.00)
+ Photocopying ($900.00)
+ Overhead ($645.00)
= ($13,545.00)
Any additional funding will be used to survey more students.
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The principal investigator will receive no compensation for time spent on this project.
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Appendix A:
Survey
This survey is designed to learn how college students feel about the Republican Party. This survey is
voluntary; you may skip any of the questions. All responses will be kept strictly confidential. Upon
completion of the survey, please return this form to the survey’s administrator. Thank you very much for
your time.
Questions 1 – 25)
Please rate (1-10) the importance of each political issue to you in the first column
(1 = “Not important at all.” 10 = “Very important”).
In the second column, please rate (1-10) the Republican Party’s performance on that
issue (1 = “Very poor performance.” 10 = “Great performance.” If you don’t know, or
have no opinion, please leave the space blank or write “NO”).
Republican Party
Issue Importance to You Performance
1. Health care 1. 1.
2. National security 2. 2.
3. Social values 3. 3.
4. Energy 4. 4.
5. Taxes 5. 5.
6. Economy 6. 6.
7. Education 7. 7.
8. Business-friendly environment 8. 8.
9. Size of government 9. 9.
10. International relations 10. 10.
11. Minority rights 11. 11.
12. Civil liberties 12. 12.
13. Economic freedom 13. 13.
14. Military strength 14. 14.
15. States' rights 15. 15.
16. Balanced budget 16. 16.
17. Government ethics 17. 17.
18. Environment 18. 18.
19. Gay rights 19. 19.
20. Immigration 20. 20.
21. Foreign aid 21. 21.
22. Religion 22. 22.
23. Scientific development 23. 23.
24. Affirmative action 24. 24.
25. Abortion 25. 25.
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26) Which positions of the Republican Party do you like most?
27) Which positions of the Republican Party do you like least?
28) Please rate (1-10) how likely you would be to support each person in a future
political campaign (1 = “I would never support this person.” 10 = “I would do everything I
can to help this person win.” If you do not know of the person, please write “N/A”):
___ Jeb Bush ___ Charlie Frist ___ Newt Gingrich
___ Rudy Giuliani ___ Mike Huckabee ___ John Huntsman
___ Bobby Jindal ___ John McCain ___ Sarah Palin
___ Ron Paul ___ Mitt Romney ___ Mark Sanford
___ Arnold Schwarzenegger ___ Meg Whitman
29) Who do you think will be the Republican nominee for President in 2012?
30) How pleased will you be if this person wins the Presidency? (1 = “Not pleased at
all.” 10 = “Very pleased.”)
31) What is your expected year of graduation? _____
32) Are you male or female? ____________
33) Do you consider yourself a (please circle one):
Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, or Other ______
34) On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you feel about the Republican Party? (1 = “Very
negative.” 10 = “Very positive.”) __________
35) Do you support the Republican Party more (M), less (L), or the same amount (S), as
you did 4 years ago?
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APPENDIX B:
Survey Information
Principal Investigator: Stephen Richer
We are asking you to participate in a research study. This form will give you some information about the study.
A. Project Description
1. In this study, you will be asked to answer a number of questions about your political preferences and your
thoughts about the Republican Party.
2. The estimated time to complete this study is approximately 8 minutes.
3. The research is being conducted for an academic study of college students and the Republican Party.
B. Risks and Benefits
1. Your participation in this study does not involve any physical risk or emotional risk to you beyond the risks
of daily life.
2. You have the right to withdraw your consent or discontinue participation at any time for any reason.
3. The potential benefit of the study is a better understanding of how college students view the Republican
Party.
C. Compensation
You will receive one king size candy bar for completing this survey. Your participation is greatly appreciated.
D. Confidentiality
To secure the confidentiality of your responses, you will not be asked your name or other identifying
information in this study. Should you choose to give your name, it will not be given to any person not involved
with this study. All data collected will be analyzed in aggregate form.
E. Contacts
If you have any questions or concerns about this study, you may contact:
Stephen Richer
1630 R Street, NW
#612
Washington, DC 20009
E-mail: stephen.richer@gmail.com
F. Subject rights
Participation in this study is voluntary; you are free to end the study at any time.
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APPENDIX C: Current Research
As part of my preliminary research on college student attitudes toward the Republican
Party, I have contacted a large number of College Republican and College Democrat chapter
presidents. Each president has been sent the following message:
Hi!
My name is Stephen Richer.
I'm helping conduct a Washington DC based survey about political involvement on
college campuses. I was wondering if you could tell me how many students show up to
the average Oklahoma State College Republicans meeting, how many meetings you have
a month, and how may people are on your listserve. Thanks much!
Stephen Richer
Data collected as of February 27, 2009 (I have yet to gather any Democratic data):
School Republicans Republicans Republicans
Meetings per
Attendance Month Listserve
American University 32.5 2
Amherst College 8 4
Anselm College 12 2
Arcadia 12.5 2
Auburn University 27.5 2
Berea College (KY) 8 2
Brown University 10 3
Cornell University 17.5 4
Duke University 17.5 2
Eastern University 15 1
Edgewood College (WI) 10 1
Elizabethtown College (PA) 30 1
Franklin Pierce 10 4
Geneva College 7 4
Gettysburg 15 4
Illinois Valley Community College 9 2
La Salle University (PA) 8 3.5
Lehigh 15 2
Marquette 22.5 NA
Minnesota State University, Mankato 15 4
Minnesota State University-Mankato 15 1
Muhlenberg College 17.5 4
Northern Illinois Unniversity 20 1
Oklahoma State 50 2
Pasadena College (CA) 17.5 4 167
Penn State Berks 12 4
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Point Park University 10 4
Purdue 32.5 4
Santa Clara 12 2
Slippery Rock 7.5 1
Temple 25 4
Tulane University 12.5 4
UC Irvine 30 4
University of California Berkeley 30 4
University of California San Diego 17.5 4
University of California Santa Barbara 20 4
University of Chicago 22.5 4
University of Illinois Urbana-
Champagne 20 2
University of Louisville 15 2
University of Maine 12.5 4
University of Minnesota 27.5 2
University of Minnesota Duluth 15 4
University of Missouri 75 2
University of Missouri Kansas City 17.5 1 128
University of Montana 17.5 4
University of Pennsylvania 25 2.5
University of Texas El Paso 11 2.5
University of Utah 12.5 2
University of Vermont 8.5 2.5 40
University of Wisconsin Madison 40 2
University of Wisconsin River-Falls 15 1
UW Whitewater 20 4
Vanderbilt University 25 0.3
Washington University in St. Louis 20 4
West Chester University 7 4
Western Kentucky 15 2
Western Michigan 15 4
Westminster 7 4
Wichita State University 20 2
Yale University 12 1.25
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