Meet Kristen Soltis Anderson, co-founder of Echelon Insights and most recently, the author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up) which launched just this week. Kristen is an accomplished pollster and researcher from Orlando, Florida who has taken on the political world and has aimed her recent work at investigating how upcoming changes in America will effect the way youth, women, and minorities vote. We caught up with her on these hot topics.

1. What drove you to get into the political world of DC?

I’ve always been a political junkie, since watching The West Wing and being a debate team kid in high school. Making it to DC to do this as a job was the natural progression!

2. What is the overall message that you want your readers to take away from your new book?

That the world is changing quickly, and Republicans should not fear this change…they should embrace it. Millennials aren’t self-absorbed, frivolous, silly, or obsessed with being cool; on the contrary, they’re thoughtful, looking to innovate, very focused on improving the world and doing right by their neighbors. I try to explore this in the book.

3. Was there a significant political change that inspired the writing of The Selfie Vote?

After the 2008 election, I got very focused on trying to figure out why young voters broke away from the GOP. Was it just about Obama? When I discovered that the “breakup” had begun before Obama was on the scene, I focused on trying to understand what it was about the GOP that was turning my generation off. I’ve focused on understanding that subject ever since.

4. What are some of biggest political topics of concern that you see affecting the votes of youth, women, and minorities in the upcoming elections?

The economy is absolutely going to be top of mind, and I think that Republicans should really focus on explaining how their policy ideas lead to concrete, positive, real-world outcomes for people. We love to talk about limited government and the national debt, but we need to talk more about the impact on people’s pocketbooks and lives. Republican principles can be applied to modern problems, and we need to be sure we’re talking about how.

Where do you see yourself going in your career after the launch of your newest book?

I’m excited to work for companies and campaigns that want to understand audiences that they’re having a tough time reaching. Whether that’s young women, millennials in general, or specific interest groups, I’m excited to work on projects that explore how people think about political issues and brands.