Critical Reasoning

Party leaders feared that the recent addition of conservative planks to the party platform would diminish the popularity of the party among younger voters. Some predicted that the number of party members younger than 25 would decline, or, at best, stay the same. This fear, though, has proven to be unfounded: of all party members, the percentage younger than 25 is higher than ever. Rather than hurt the party, conservatism has helped attract more young voters to the party.

Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the author's conclusion?


Many party leaders are uncomfortable with the political direction the party is taking, for both political and ideological reasons.

Party candidates continue to suffer defeats when running on the party platform.

The number of party members older than 25 declined significantly after the announcement of the new conservative platform.

In the last election, the ratio of voters under the age of 25 who voted for the party to all voters under the age of 25 increased.

Over half the population of potential voters under the age of 25 never vote.


OA-Later