CLEVELAND — Kyla Beville and Carl Keleman lead a Young Democrats group at the University of Akron. Neither are happy about Joe Biden being the presumptive nominee but Beville said she understands that election night math is important for Democrats in 2020.
"I think the main thing that they're focusing on is just beating Trump. Which, I mean, I guess that's a good start,” she said sitting in downtown Cleveland’s Public Square.
“He's an alright candidate and his policies are definitely better than some of the alternatives,” Keleman said of the former Vice President.
Although neither wanted Biden to be the nominee, both will vote for him in the general election against President Donald Trump.
"Look at how I look,” Beville said. “I’m not voting for Trump." The college junior identifies as Black and said Biden’s choice for V.P., California Sen. Kamala Harris, fell short as well.
“I can understand why he picked her. She's smart. I think that she's a good choice, overall, for the Democratic Party,” Beville said. “But, to me, it kind of comes across as tone-deaf. Because … in her own words she was a top cop and - it’s just - like I said, I understand why (Biden) picked her but her record is questionable at best.”
Both students wanted Sen. Bernie Sanders, I - Vermont, to win the nomination this year.
"He has stuck to his guns his entire political career. He hasn't changed his positions. And, I think, that that is like so admiring to me,” Beville said about the former Presidential candidate.
As newer voters - both of them are younger than 25-years-old - they saw Sanders as a way to move the party forward.
"So right now the Democratic Party definitely has a lot that they can work on,” Keleman said.
Beville agreed, challenging the party to move away from the moderate tone it may need to oust President Trump.
"They don't want to seem like they're too progressive,” she said. “Even though, to me, it's not progressive."
These young voters want the party to be less reactionary. They want to see a party platform that has aggressive actions on climate change, student loan debt, social justice reform, and healthcare.
"Definitely we need a lot of change, and the younger people - and the younger voters - are gonna be the ones left with the consequences of whatever decision politicians make now so that's why we need politicians fighting for us,” Keleman said about what he sees as the party’s failure to make it’s trademark big tent even larger.
Kelemen will graduate soon with an engineering degree from the University of Akron. Experts warned of a looming recession before the Coronavirus pandemic but now, he’s worried the job market will be flooded. Keleman and Beville want leaders in the Democrat Party to push past barriers.
"We need people who speak up and who aren't afraid to go against what older members of their party might think,” Beville said. “I think that's way more important to show that you have your own thoughts and your own ideas and you're not just saying what you need to say." She pointed to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an example of someone creating change from within the party.
The pair also supported expanding past a two-party system. They think more representation in the future will give more voters a voice.
The Republican National Convention starts on Aug. 24, 2020. News 5 will feature voices of young Republican voters during that week.
