Republicans and Democrats are competing to claim the next generation of voters, a tricky pursuit for the GOP while young people may be turned off by the party's stance moving farther and farther right.
The challenge for Republicans is to dissociate potential presidential candidates like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) from the labels often associated with the Tea Party, like "extremist" or "marginal."
But conservative think tanks are convinced young voters can find admirable qualities in politicians like Paul. Kristen Soltis Anderson, vice president for Republican research and strategy firm The Winston Group, discussed with HuffPost Live the policies on which she thinks Paul and young Republicans can agree, including size of government, defense and entitlement reform.
Anderson added that even older Republicans -- like Rand's father Ron Paul -- offer authenticity that can pull in young voters.
"If you look at a Republican debate stage, Ron Paul is not the coolest, hippest, youngest guy on that stage, but you don't doubt that what he says is what he believes, and I think that's something that has a lot of appeal," she said.
Check out the video above to hear the Republican argument for why the GOP isn't distancing itself from young voters.
Watch the full segment on HuffPost Live HERE.
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