Democrats want to turn internet hype for Harris into votes

The Social Media Power of Gen Z and the First Woman President of the United States: A Conversation with Vice President Sarah Palomar-Levenson

In time for students to head back to school, Vice President Harris is increasing her outreach to young people as the campaign gets a boost in support from Gen Z and younger voters.

But as she addressed a room of Gen Z organizers last week at a coffee shop in Chicago, wearing a handful of friendship bracelets that said, ‘Kamala,’ ‘political girlie,’ and ‘voting era,’ there’s a new playing field.

It’s been great to see the attention and the online energy. “We’re really focused on how do we make sure that we maintain that energy and how do we then harness that energy?”

Both Trump and Harris want to reach young voters. The age group that Trump doesn’t need to win the presidency. Harris very well might.

Making that support stick is a challenge given how recently Harris launched her campaign and the fact that more and more young people are turning out to vote.

Levenson can already point to promising signs for the campaign’s organizing push. She created a program for the Harris campaign to use, and will begin again as students return to campus this fall.

“We’ve seen such a great influx of folks coming into our campaign,” she said. The student program has seen more sign-ups in the last few weeks than we have seen in a long time. We’ve seen more folks signing up for our events. We’ve seen more folks applying for those jobs. We need that to continue and we need to keep up the energy.

On top of a rise in the polls among this age group, Harris has benefited from a surge of viral moments online. The campaign is running with it and has seen a huge increase in engagement on TikTok where they have seen a massive increase in followers.

As Minnesota Governor and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz took the stage at the DNC’s youth council meeting, the crowd of largely young people erupted in cheers and chants of “coach.”

In states where the margins may be incredibly tight, the power young voters could have is very clear.

He said it would be won in the trenches. It is going to be won by your demographic for the most part. We are going to get you to vote if we can turn you out. The first woman president of the United States is going to be you.

As he was about to head to the convention center, the 21-year-old said he could feel the excitement in his voice.

“What we wanted out of the Democratic Party was energy,” he said. “We wanted some semblance of youthfulness and vigor and energy. And now, I don’t know if you’ve been in the convention hall, but there is not a single dull moment in that hall.”

The DNC had to show voters the different sides of the party. Organizers had pushed for a Palestinian American to speak at the convention.

And while the war is not the top issue overall that young voters care about according to previous national polls, it remains a concern, particularly among some progressive, Arab American and Muslim voters – groups that typically side with Democrats.

He explained how much the issue impacts young people. It’s important that a Palestinian-American gets a place on this stage. We have to include everyone in our speaking lineup. And we need to make sure that people see that we care about everyone and all sides of conflicts and all sides of this issue.”

The Harris Campaign: Turning the Energy into Action for Young Voters to Win Gen Z (Here’s the Plan to Win them)

Harris and some outside groups have decreased their national advertising spending by almost $250 million over the last month than Trump and groups supporting him have.

Her campaign will push ads on the platform during a national takeover. The targeted ads will be run on campus newspapers, as well as on other social media platforms.

“It is because of the record turnout among college students in 2020 that I am vice president today. And to win this election, I need your support. Harris said in a letter to college students posted on the campaign’s student page.

It’s something her campaign is aware of. They say they’re working to harness and sustain the increase in energy from young voters through the end of the election.

Trump’s campaign is also courting young voters. He’s appeared with prominent social media influencers and done interviews on popular podcasts with comedians and content creators. The former president also continues to collaborate closely with Turning Point Action, the organizing wing of the far-right youth-focused group Turning Point USA.

During the week of the convention in Chicago, there were a number of youth-focused organizing events and programming, and a number of young speakers.

“The only way we will win is by organizing everywhere and it’s up to us to turn the energy we’re seeing into action to win in November,” he said. “I am confident that we will see record youth turnout this November.”

The Harris campaign said that young voters know that the election will affect their futures from the ability to make health care decisions to being safe from gun violence.

While the Harris announcement coincides with a number of campus stops for Harris’s campaign surrogates, the president of the University of Pittsburgh and a congressman are visiting the University of Florida.

Source: Harris needs Gen Z. Here’s her plan to win them

The Challenge of Biden’s 2020 Primary: An Outcome for Young Voters in 12 States and the Strike to Save a Hero

In 2020, Biden won among voters under 30 by a whopping 24-point margin, with some of the highest turnout among young voters of color in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan. He lost favor with younger voters around the country because he made unpopular policy choices, and they expressed concerns about his age.

There are initiatives that will target young voters on 150 campuses across 11 states.