My family was also a contribution to my political socialization for a while. They too were Democrats. For a long time I voted all Democrats down the ballot, until I realized all the candidates were not for the things I valued. As I grew older I started paying more attention to the media and the opinion and views of other people. I even found myself looking into a situation for myself, especially when I found the issue important to me. Now, when I vote, I try to find out something about the candidate and their views and goals for the office they are running for. Even though I still vote Democrat, I have found myself voting for a Republican in some
