Companies spend a lot of money marketing to young adults. Because their tastes and opinions are in flux, they are at once very demanding and extremely attractive customers. Advertisers know it can be difficult to acquire their loyalty and harder to keep it. Yet, the benefits of capturing a customer for a lifetime far outweigh the costs.   In courting young voters, candidates face the same challenges, and stand to gain similar rewards. A candidate or party that can gain the trust and loyalty of young adults now, before their opinions and beliefs are set, can build a generational voting base that will remain for years. Studies show that most young voters who vote for a party in three straight elections will stay with that party for life.   Young voters are almost evenly split between Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. In other words, this age group is up for grabs.   As with any demographic group, it's important to understand the basic attributes of younger voters before designing a strategy to appeal to them. This part of the Toolkit is about understanding them: Who are they_ What are their interests_ What issues do they care about_ What are they looking for in a candidate_ How do they make their voting decisions_   Use this background to frame an outreach strategy that fits your district and campaign.