The first-ever Republican midterm convention opened this week at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, drawing a large, energized crowd ahead of November’s elections. Among the voices weighing in from the arena floor is a young conservative writer who argues the party’s energy won’t translate into votes from his generation unless Republicans back up their attacks on Democrats with specific, tangible promises.
In an opinion piece published from the convention, the Gen Z author, Brilyn Hollyhand, wrote that simply labeling Democrats “communists” is not an effective political strategy, even if he agrees with the underlying critique of their agenda. He argued that emotional appeals and promises of free housing, student debt relief, and climate action are working on younger voters regardless of whether those promises are honest.
“If our answer is just ‘they’re communists,’ we lose the people who never took a political theory class and never will,” he wrote, adding that many young voters simply “shrug” at the label and move on to whichever side offers something that sounds like relief.
What He Says Is Working In Dallas
According to the piece, the Dallas convention marked the first time he had heard Republicans present concrete counteroffers in a concentrated way, rather than just criticism of the other party. He pointed to tax relief aimed at paychecks, measurable border enforcement, energy production instead of rationing, and candidates focused on building rather than only condemning opponents.
He listed a set of policies from the past year and a half that he said should be publicized more aggressively to young voters, including:
- The end of taxes on tips and overtime pay, which he said is now showing up in tax returns
- Social Security tax relief for seniors
- The Working Families Tax Cuts, which he said put more money in paychecks
- An end to catch-and-release at the border, with interior releases reaching zero for months
- Funding for the border wall and additional agents
- Trump Accounts, savings accounts for children
- Renewed energy leasing
He argued Republicans have been quiet about this record when they should be highlighting it directly to voters in their twenties.
A Call For Follow-Through
The writer said he hopes former President Trump takes the same energy seen at the Dallas arena to college campuses across the country, presenting young voters with a list of promises kept alongside a second list of what he called unfinished business: affordable housing, lower power bills, stronger support for trades and apprenticeships, colleges that compete on cost rather than ideology, and safer cities.
“That is how you beat the other side’s offer,” he wrote. “They sell cancellation, panic, and belonging. We should sell keys, hours, watts, and a wage.”
He closed by warning that the Dallas convention should be the beginning of a sustained effort rather than a brief show of enthusiasm, writing that his generation has already heard the word “communist” enough — what it hasn’t heard enough of, he said, is a deal.
