Chelsea Clinton Talks Youth Vote, Parenthood in Milwaukee

Less than one week before the 2016 presidential election, Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, spoke to young voters in Milwaukee and touched heavily on how becoming a parent has impacted her ideas toward the future of the country.

“This is, unquestionably, the most consequential election of my lifetime, and I feel that way in part because this is the first election I am voting in as a parent,” said Clinton. “I didn’t know I could care any more intensely about who was running for or holding political office until I became a parent,” said Clinton.

The event took place at the Anodyne Coffee’s roastery location in Walker’s Point. Both the speaker and the location were strategic for the Democratic Party.

“What Chelsea does is she brings a youthful element to connect with young people, and that’s clearly one of the key demographics of this race,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

According to the United States Census Bureau, 27.6 was the median age for the Walker’s Point 53204 zip code in 2014. The youth vote was also key in the election of current President Barack Obama.

“There’s a lot of young people, and people young at heart, in this area,” said Barrett. “It’s a hot part of town, it’s a growing part of town. [There is] a lot of energy here, and we want to translate that energy into votes,” said Barrett.

When Clinton took the stage she was calm and composed, wore a t-shirt that read, ”MAKE HERSTORY, “ and spoke for about 15 minutes. She talked of her experiences on the campaign trail, speaking of the concerns Americans young and old shared with her if her mother is not elected president. She tried to impress upon the crowd her sense of urgency regarding the 2016 election.

“The progress that President Obama has made, that I think he gets far too little credit for having made, is at risk,” said Clinton. “The opportunities for further progress are at risk, and I think our core values as a country are at risk,” said Clinton.

Several parents attended with young children in tow. Clinton’s approach to speaking was the opposite to earlier this year when Republican candidate Donald Trump, either jokingly or seriously, implored security to escort a crying a baby out of one of his rallies.

“Please don’t worry about the little people making sounds, it makes me feel right at home,” said Clinton, a mother of two young children.

After her speech, Clinton invited the audience to ask questions and offer suggestions regarding the remainder of the campaign.

Congresswoman Gwen Moore also spoke to the crowd before introducing Clinton, and the mood of each of the speakers was light. Moore made pleas to convince crowd-goers to vote early.

“If you would go early vote…that would free you up to volunteer,” said Moore. She tried to get the audience motivated to volunteer during the final days until the election, closing with an African proverb. “Together, the ants eat the elephant,” said Moore, prior to introducing Chelsea Clinton.

Anodyne Coffee Owner Matthew McClutchy surveyed the event with a cup of coffee in his right hand and his one-and-a-half-year-old held at his left hip. He explained how the event came to happen at the location. “We got a call from the Clinton campaign asking if the room was available,” said McClutchey. “I gave them a tour and it seemed to work out for them. We’re taking a break, [the employees are] going to watch and listen in,” said McClutchey.

Officials from the Hillary Clinton campaign said that 250 people attended the event, but added that they had not confirmed that number with the city fire inspector.

Regular elections take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Early voting in Milwaukee ends at 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5.