U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania speaks to supporters following his election victory Nov. 8 in Breinigsville, Pa. (Photo: Jeff Swensen, Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – High School Senior Katrina Torsoe spent the weekend before Election Day on an unusual civics project: knocking on hundreds of doors in suburban Philadelphia to help re-elect Sen. Pat Toomey.
She did it even though she couldn’t vote for the Pensylvania Republican – or anyone for that matter. At 17, Torsoe is still months away from being able to legally cast a ballot.
“I really wish I could vote,” the high school senior from Rockland County, N.Y. said in an interview “But I feel like this is sort of my way of getting out there and trying to make a difference in places where it will really matter.”
Torsoe was one of several hundred home-schooled teenagers deployed by a group called Generation Joshua in key Senate races in the days before the election to work for Republican incumbents whose re-election would determine whether the chamber remained in GOP hands
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All four – Toomey in Pennslvania, Marco Rubio in Florida, Roy Blunt in Missouri, and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin – won races. And all four outperformed independent polls in the last week of the campaign, helping to keep the Senate in Republican control.
Founded in 2003 by Christian political activist Mike Farris and the Home School Legal Defense Association, Generation Joshua is based at Patrick Henry College in Northern Virginia. Aside from running a summer camp to expose students to real-life political scenarios, the organization supplies conservative campaigns with dozens of motivated, well-disciplined teenagers adept at connecting with voters and staying on message.
The campaigns covered almost all of the expenses this cycle, such as food, gas and lodging, In turn, they provided the teenage volunteers with specific doors to knock on during the day and homes to call at night with very clear instructions on what to tell voters.
Joel Grewe, who runs Generation Joshua, said even politics-weary residents wary of canvassers tend to open their doors to teenagers.
“Hi. I’m such and such and I’m 14 and I can’t vote and I’m hoping you do,” said Grewe, recounting a typical pitch. “That’ll get through to people. People will listen to that as opposed to anything else they hear the entire political cycle.”
It’s hard to know what impact the home schoolers had on the outcomes. But Grewe lays out some compelling circumstantial evidence: the preponderance of last-minute voters that seemed to fall the incumbents’ way and a surge of Republican turnout in key areas where the home schoolers strategically blanketed neighborhoods.
Consider the two Florida counties – Orange and Pinellas – where nearly 70 Generation Joshua volunteers canvassed and made phone calls during the last week of the campaign on behalf of Rubio.
Total voter turnout rose from 936,592 four years ago to 1,038,294 this year, or about 11%, according to Grewe’s data. The GOP turnout in those two counties that are part of Florida’s politically crucial I-4 Corridor over the same period increased from 320,621 to 461,167, or 44%.
Among those going door-to-door for Rubio was Bethany Kann, 17, who lives on a farm east of Orlando in the hamlet of Christmas. The home-schooled high school senior estimates she knocked on more than 200 doors in the few days before Election Day urging Orange County voters to make sure they voted for Rubio.
“It’s very important for me because it’s my future in their hands,” she said, explaining her reason for campaigning. “And I want to make sure it’s in the right hands.”
Generation Joshua volunteers reported making 680,235 voter contacts across nine states during the final days of the campaign, Grewe said.
Aside from the four states with toss-up Senate races, they helped a Senate race in Utah, House races in Indiana and New Hampshire, and conducted voter education efforts in North Carolina and northern Virginia.
In an election where Hillary Clinton and Democratic allies heavily outspent Republicans in key states and boasted about a superior ground game, the Generation Joshua teens were considered welcome reinforcements for the GOP senators they helped.
Blunt, who won re-election in Missouri by three percentage points when polls showed up him by one just one in the waning days of the campaign, was grateful for the assist.
“The Generation Joshua volunteers did a great job throughout the state talking to Missourians about issues that matter to them,” he said through a spokesman. “I am proud of the work they did and glad they could experience the democratic process firsthand. I hope they’ll stay engaged and become leaders in their communities.”
For the home schoolers, it’s not just about helping elect someone who shares many of their Christian values. It’s also about getting hands-on experience. And for Generation Joshua, it’s also about grooming a new generation of conservative activists, operatives and leaders.
David Hassi, a home school student from Waukesha, Wis., stands with GOP Sen. Ron Johnson. Hassi volunteered on Johnson's campaign through Generation Joshua, a Christian-based organization that placed home schoolers in key political campaigns throughout the U.S. (Photo: Courtesy of David Hassi)
David Hassi, who turned 17 the day after Election Day, of Waukesha worked in the Green Bay and Appleton areas helping Johnson win a second term and helping elect Republican Mike Gallagher win an open House seat.
Now Hassi wants to go to Patrick Henry College and pursue a career in politics, following in the footsteps of other “Gen J” alums who hold public office, work as legislative directors or manage campaigns.
“I definitely want to do something in the field,” said the high school senior who previously volunteered in other campaigns. “There are hundreds of different opportunities and different jobs and different things to do. Whatever I feel God’s calling me towards is the opportunity I’m going to take. (But) it’s a long way off and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
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