MILWAUKEE— Wisconsin will play a key role in the 2008 elections and the youth vote will decide the next President of the United States, Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean said Tuesday on the UW-Milwaukee campus.

Dean, speaking at an event sponsored by UW-Milwaukee College Democrats , said turnout of voters under 30 in Wisconsin is likely the highest or second highest in the nation.

He said youth voter turnout increased 20 percent from 2002 in 2004 and increased 24 percent in 2006.

According to Dean, 56 percent of young voters voted for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. in 2004 and 61 percent voted for Democrats in the 2006 elections.

Dean, the former governor of Vermont, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and lost to Kerry.

Dean said the next election should not be taken for granted by Democrats.

“This is going to be a close election,” Dean said. “Republicans don’t know how to run the country, but they know how to win elections.”

He also said it was important for Wisconsin Democrats to try to win three seats in the state Assembly to give them a majority in 2008.

One of the main themes of Dean’s speech was to encourage political activism in young voters. He said an example of how young people can impact politics is through the Internet.

Dean’s 2004 campaign generated political momentum with the Internet, but he said the campaign simply rode a wave created by young voters’ increased use of the Web.

“We weren’t the Internet campaign,” Dean said, “we were just smart enough to follow you.”

The Democratic candidates for President, according to Dean, represent the younger generation better than the Republican candidates.

He said even Martin Luther King Jr., if he were alive today, would be surprised to see a woman, a black American and a Hispanic candidate among Presidential candidates.

Dean said the next President would have to “restore America’s moral authority” in the world on issues such as the war in Iraq.

“If you want to get out of Iraq you better elect a Democratic President,” Dean said.

UW-Madison junior Sierra Ready said after the event that the speech helped people realize the Presidential primaries are coming closer and energized people for 2008.

State Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, attended the event and said Dean understood the importance of young people and issues he touched on resonate with them.