Younger GOP women plead with older voters to focus on economic issues, avoid culture wars

The Barbie pink sashes and shirts stood out in the usual sea of red and blue at a Republican women’s convention in Oklahoma City. While the blockbuster movie that inspired the pink fashion wave was all about equity, these sashes and shirts had a different message. They slammed the rights of trans women. Some conservatives worry the hardline messaging is hurting the party’s chance of recruiting younger, more diverse voters ahead of the the 2024 presidential election.  “I always say stay away from the polarizing issues, because the polarizing issues are not where the common ground is,” said Maria Sofia, who leads the youth engagement effort of the National Federation of Republican Women, which hosted the Oklahoma City convention that ended this past Sunday.  The decades-old organization has helped push women to the forefront of the GOP. But today, its membership base reflects the party’s broader struggle to gain ground among young, diverse voters. Most women who belong to the group are white, and only a fraction are 45 or younger.  Younger, more diverse generations are beginning to vote in the US The U.S. electorate has diversified at a much more rapid clip, and those votes could decide close races...