It’s all over the news. If you don’t watch the news, it’s all over social media. And if it’s not all over your social media, you have heard about it from a friend. The primary elections for the 2024 presidential election are kicking off. The Republican Party’s start to the primary season has not surprised anyone.

2024 was supposed to be the year of youth in politics. Members of both parties have openly said that a younger presidential candidate would be better, especially for the Republican Party. Soon after the primary season started, Republicans came to the realization that they may not get the youthful candidate they have been asking for.

“Biden — too old. Trump — too much chaos. A rematch no one wants. There’s a better choice for a better America. Her story started right here, America’s youngest governor…” a Nikki Haley ad said.

Republican frontrunners have been using the age of Former President Donald Trump to help their campaigns. The Republican primaries have been a long-awaited series of events that new Republican candidates hoped would revive modernized conservative views. 

Talking about how Vivek Ramaswamy’s young age was eye-catching this election season, UT Freshman Jeevana Gottipati mentioned in an interview with The Texas Tribune that Ramaswamy “can relate to [younger voters] more [and can give] advice that you can relate to on a non-political level.” 

The concerns with the ages of political candidates would make one think that a younger candidate would become more popular in the primary election process. Republicans originally thought that a candidate under 70 would exponentially gain the popular vote; however, they would be wrong. The first two primaries have taken place and the results are showing more of the same.

The first Republican caucus took place in Iowa on January 15. All of the new Republican candidates participated in the caucus. Former President Donald Trump clinched the popular vote. This was a slightly unexpected win in the eyes of the other candidates.

“When people take a poll, they can push someone one way or other, but there’s a lot of people that still haven’t made up a final decision,” DeSantis told “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil prior to the caucus. “So I think we’re in good situation to be able to capture [the vote.]”

Trump winning the popular vote in the Iowa caucus signified a pretty visible future on how the rest of the primary season is going to look for the Republican party. Another important takeaway from the Iowa caucus is the number of candidates that dropped out of the election within days. 

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was the first to drop out of the race. Christie was not a candidate who was favorable to the voters who wanted a younger candidate, but he was favorable to modern Republican voters who have a popular hatred for Trump.

“I want to promise you this,” Christie continued in an evening event with voters. “I’m going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambition.”

Soon after Christie’s leave, Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 primaries. He dropped out the day after the Iowa caucus because of his desire for “an America First candidate in [the] race… [and] going forward, [Trump] will have [his] full endorsement for the presidency.” Ramaswamy’s endorsement was shared in an interview with NBC News.

Following Ramaswamy was Asa Hutchinson, which didn’t surprise many Republicans because he wasn’t popular in the polls after the initial debates.

Most recently, and the final to drop out for now, was Desantis. This was a shock to many Republican supporters because of Desantis’s likability and his potential to grab the Republican nomination from Trump. Instead of continuing on the campaign trail, Desantis endorsed Trump.

“While I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden,” DeSantis said in his pledge to drop out of the election. “Trump has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the Republican Guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”

Nikki Haley is the only Republican candidate who has decided to continue to go head-to-head with Trump. Haley is facing pressure to drop out of the election from the Republicans who support Trump, but she is resisting. The second primary took place in New Hampshire, and Trump still won the popular vote over Haley.

Almost all of the Republican candidates dropping out of the primaries this early was expected and has shown how the current political climate of the world is toxic. A younger candidate for the presidency is a reasonable, bipartisan ask, but delegates from the Republican party refuse to give their votes to a younger alternative to Trump.

Elections are so important, and to be informed is crucial. The younger generation needs to become more involved in politics and promote change. 

“The Iowa Republican caucuses were a low-turnout affair, drawing just over 108,000 voters, or about 14.4% of the state’s approximately 752,000 registered Republicans, nearly complete vote tallies showed,” Aaron Zitner wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “By historical standards, Iowa’s much-watched caucuses didn’t draw much participation.”

The harsh political climate and aging representatives in America can only be fixed by young voters. The only way that Republicans and Democrats will get the representation they are begging for is participation in politics.