Dear Young Democrat Leader,

Chairman Dean and other party leaders have urged Superdelegates to pledge to a Democratic Presidential Candidate. Early today, I headed their calls and announced who I intend to vote for at the Democratic National Convention. It is not an exaggeration to say that this was the hardest decision of my life.

As one of your representatives on the Democratic National Committee, I have worked tirelessly to  fight for young voters and promote the amazing work you are doing around the country. From the beginning I felt that my responsibility to YDA was to make a decision, not based on my personal feeling for any candidate, but to make a choice reflective of all young voters. For nearly a year I have been meeting with the campaigns, talking to YDA members and young voters, and digesting the results of the primaries and caucuses.

My intention is to vote for Senator Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. As we all know if a person votes for a Democrat three times in a row they will be a Democratic voter for life. We saw record turnouts in 2004 and 2006, making 2008 a crucial election to reach out and turn out young voters. Senator Obama’s campaign has demonstrated a commitment to young voters, as evidenced by the activism and the overwhelming support he has received from young people in primary contests. I strongly believe, at this time, it is important that young people who support Senator Obama are embraced by our organization and given that my counterpart pledged to Senator Clinton, I think we now truly represent the Young Democrats of America.

Young people and YDA members, in particular, are not a monolithic group and I realize my intention to vote for Senator Obama will not make everyone happy. I hope you continue to email, facebook, call or write me if you would like to discuss this decision.

As the primary draws to a close, YDA’s mission to mobilize and create a bloc of young voters is mission critical. This means we will dedicate more time, energy and resources to our cause than ever before and I look forward to standing with all of you to send a Democrat to the White House in 2008 and create a bloc of Democratic young voters for our generation.

See you in Nashville,

Crystal

Crystal Strait
Democratic National Committeewoman
Young Democrats of America
dncwoman@yda.org
(916) 595-7975