Meet the Candidate: Jim Rubens

PLYMOUTH, NH -- US Senate Republican candidate, Jim Rubens, spoke and took questions from a handful of students and faculty in the Student Senate Room on Tue., Oct., 8, 2013. The Plymouth State University Republicans hosted the event, the first of PSU's Meet the Candidate Series which will run up until the 2014 November elections. 

Rubens talked at length about the current problems he believes the US is facing. From repealing the Affordable Care Act to staying out of Syria, Rubens spoke about his visions for the future of the country and how he disagreed with the incumbent Jeanne Shaheen's strategy in the Senate. 

Rubens saw this trip to PSU as an opportunity to reach a demographic of voters the GOP severely lost in the 2012 election. "We Republicans...we've got to bring young people into our party again," said Rubens. "Young people have experimented for two elections with Obama...but more war, more spying, more debt, a poor economy. Republicans, I think, can win back young people by delivering the goods, providing solutions, and strengthening the economy."  

Rubens fielded questions about the two things he feels most college students are worried about: student loan debt and the job market. "Young people need full-time jobs. You come out of college, you need to pay your debt, and you need a full-time job," stated Ruben. "Splitting up the pie isn't going to work; we need to make the pie bigger." 

Rubens' collegiate tour won't end in Plymouth. "We need to communicate with young people and provide solutions," explained Rubens. "[I've] already been to UNH-Durham, Keene State, and [I'm] going to Dartmouth next week. My staff is working on getting me to as many [campuses] as possible." 

Sophomore Dan Cheever, President of the Plymouth State University Republicans, was glad Mr. Rubens could come to PSU and explain his viewpoints. "He's a different type of Republican, not an in-the-box Republican," said Cheever. "We hoped that people from all different views could get a look at what he stands for." 

Cheever believes that the Meet the Candidate Series is beneficial to students, feeling that the face-to-face communication is better than gaining information from the media and that it provides "a more informal setting and students feel more comfortable asking questions."

Most importantly, Cheever hoped Mr. Rubens visit would inform students. "We just want people to find out what people are about. We're not trying shut people out who have different views," added Cheever. "We just wanted to open up the discussion."