Young conservatives have grown up in Trump's Republican Party. Now, it's time to vote

When former President Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, Rylen Bassett was in fourth grade. Living in Defiance County, Ohio, he convinced his mom to take him to a rally about 50 minutes away in Fort Wayne, Ind.

And the rest is history.

"After that, I fell in love with it," Bassett remembered. "I was the kid that wore the Trump shirt all throughout elementary [school]."

That year, he stayed up late to watch the debates. On career day, there was an easy inspiration.

"I dressed up as Trump," he said with a smile. "I wore a Trump hat, wore the suit, put the button on, I did everything."

Now 18, Bassett is heading to Liberty University in the fall. He's become a political wonk, passionate about gun rights and education.

Ohio's primary Tuesday marks the first time he gets to vote in a presidential matchup. And though he's grown up from the wide-eyed childhood fan and can acknowledge the former president has his flaws, Trump is still his guy.

"He's transformed the political universe," Basset said. "I still like the fact that he doesn't back down to anyone... he is still a conservative at heart."

Bassett isn't alone in feeling a pull toward the former president. Trump carried the Buckeye state twice, in 2016 and again in 2020.

And nationally, Trump has been on the political stage for nearly a decade, so for many young conservatives casting their first ballot this year, Trump has been at the center of the Republican political world for much of their memory.

"Donald Trump is their Republican experience," explained conservative pollster and strategist Sarah Longwell. "If you've come of political consciousness in the last decade, then the Republican party, to you, really does look like Trump."

To Longwell, this new