Young and Restless

Alexander mentioned a story from the Christian Science Monitor yesterday, which notes that young people in New Hampshire tend to turnout more reliably than they do in other states of the nation.

In an open primary state, like NH — especially one that, due to its early role in the 2012 primary calendar, serves partially as a king-maker — a mobilized base of young voters could turn the tides in favor of one candidate or doom the campaign of another.

This time around, both former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Texas Congressman Ron Paul are hoping to capitalize on the frustration felt by young voters — both GOPers and Democrats alike — to catapult their oft-marginalized campaigns into the mainstream.

Last night, CBS News published a breakdown of just how crucial the young vote will be to both the Huntsman and Paul efforts, as well as to the campaign of longtime frontrunner Mitt Romney.

The most recent polling shows that nearly a quarter of young voters who'll hit the polls in tomorrow's New Hampshire primary remain undecided. That shouldn't come as a surprise. With the economy in the tank, many young voters are ready to cast a vote against incumbent Barack Obama. Of those expressing an allegiance, 39% say they'll support Ron Paul, 25% will say they'll back Mitt Romney and just 7% say they are supporting Jon Huntsman.

One thing is for sure: If Huntsman — a moderate with a proven track record for reaching across the aisle and avoiding partisan rhetoric — fails to capture a significant chunk of young voters and does not perform well overall, his longshot candidacy is over.

For the other two, things aren't quite as cut-and-dry.

Even if Ron Paul successfully captures the plurality of young voters in New Hampshire (as he did in Iowa, with 48%) his battle remains persuading the bulk of older Republicans to subscribe to his back-to-the-future ideals of small government and non-interventionist foreign policy.

Meanwhile, if Mitt Romney continues to fail to steal away young support and momentum from Paul, he may still win the nomination but, his general election campaign could be doomed by a lack of mobilized young voters.

In the long-term, the key remains convincing Paul's energetic young supporters to stick with the GOP, even if the 76-year-old doctor is not the nominee. It remains to be seen if the GOP will bring Paulites into the fold at next year's RNC Convention, or force them to their own convention as was the case in 2008.

Alexander: With New Hampshire voters hitting the polls tomorrow, which candidate do you think will be most successful with young voters? Will Ron Paul maintain his stranglehold on GOP ballot casters under the age of 30? Will young voters in NH toss Huntsman's campaign the life vest it so desperately needs? Or, will Mitt Romney finally resonate with young primary voters, and further cement his frontrunner status?