Dear Editor,

In light of a recent poll that showed you with only a 2 percent lead among young voters over Governor Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, millennials have found themselves the target of much conversation from your campaign and its supporters. While we enjoy the negative press that we so often see ourselves the target of, it’s concerning to see the accusations that we already hear too often coming directly from a presidential campaign.

We are well-accustomed to the arguments being thrown at us, claiming that a vote for a third party is a wasted vote, or even worse, a vote for Trump. We hear the same argument in reverse from our parents and grandparents on the other side of the aisle.

The criticisms that have come to light in recent days, however, are different. They paint my generation with a broad stroke, with the idea that we are voting for something because it’s cool or hip, that we are ill-informed, or that we have given no thought to the consequences of voting third party.

While the Democratic Party has historically relied on the guaranteed votes of young people, you must remember that you are living in a different age. We are not ill-informed. On the contrary, Gary Johnson’s voters have had to rely on their own research in order to make up their minds. The mainstream media has not done that for us. I believe you will find that, through the Internet, we are better informed of your campaign and its distaste of ethics that you have otherwise been able to sweep under the rug.

Your assumption that we will move to your campaign relies solely on the idea that you had our votes to begin with. If this assumption were at all true, we would not be throwing our support behind an underdog; Bernie Sanders would not have been able to give you a run for your money.

And while the character attacks that I have seen from the media regarding Gary Johnson’s recent gaffes have raised some eyebrows from older generations, it is the millennial generation who can answer the question “What is Aleppo?” with “The city that your foreign policy destroyed.” It is the millennial generation that will pay for the $20 trillion debt that you and your cohorts have created. It is the millennial generation that has fact-checked your support of LGBT rights to know that you didn’t support their cause until it became politically expedient in 2013.

When I look at Gary Johnson, I see a man who has built his own campaign on his own merits. I see a man who has rallied millions of voters for a positive change, rather than the fear of what may happen if we lose. I see a man who will not give us the “business as usual” that has gotten us to where we are today. I see a man who is actually deserving of my vote.

-Corey Constable

Delaware