Gen Z embraces Harris and all of the context that came before her – Washington Examiner
The article discusses how Vice President Kamala Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has energized Generation Z voters ahead of the 2024 election. With President Joe Biden’s support among young voters dropping significantly, Harris’s campaign has actively sought to connect with this demographic, particularly through social media and cultural trends like “brat summer,” which emerged from Charli XCX’s recent album.
Harris’s campaign strategy involves leveraging internet phenomena and relatable messaging to avoid appearing out of touch, unlike past attempts by politicians. Many young voters, including college activists and Gen Z leaders, have expressed enthusiasm for Harris’s approach and her stance on issues crucial to them, such as abortion rights, climate change, and student loan forgiveness. This renewed engagement marks a shift from the earlier lack of excitement among young voters regarding Biden’s candidacy.
Moreover, Harris’s campaign has been proactive in adapting her policy positions, responding to criticisms, and establishing herself as a champion for issues important to younger demographics. As the 2024 election approaches, the Democratic National Convention is also embracing similar themes to appeal to these voters. there’s a palpable sense of excitement regarding Harris that indicates a shift in energy among young voters, contrasting the previous sentiment surrounding Biden’s campaign.
Gen Z embraces Harris and all of the context that came before her
CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris’s ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket appears to be energizing some of the youngest voters in the party: Generation Z.
Gen Z is among the key voting demographics Democrats have been trying to appeal to during the 2024 cycle. A New York Times-Siena poll released in June showed President Joe Biden bleeding support from the generation, posting just a 6% advantage with young voters in a matchup against former President Donald Trump. In 2020, Biden won with a 24-point margin among voters ages 18-29 in exit polling.
But since Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, Harris’s campaign has heavily courted young voters since she ascended to the top of the ticket, with her campaign embracing an online phenomenon known as “brat summer.”
“Brat summer” has taken the internet by storm, with lime green and black text becoming synonymous with the sensation. It stems from musician Charli XCX’s album released earlier this summer called brat.
It first became connected with Harris’s campaign after Charli XCX issued an endorsement of sorts of Harris online, saying the vice president “IS brat” the same day Biden issued his own endorsement of her.
Harris’s campaign instantly latched onto the online phenomenon, with the Kamala HQ account on X swapping its banner to a photo with a lime green banner that reads “kamala hq” in the same font as the musician’s album.
Her campaign and its allies have also capitalized on internet memes surrounding a viral clip of a speech Harris gave in 2023 where she recounted a phrase her mother used frequently.
“She would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris said at the time. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
The Kamala HQ account’s bio reads “adding context” in an apparent reference to the speech.
Harris’s campaign’s utilization of social media trends has “really impressed” 19-year-old Sunjay Muralitharan, a national vice president for the College Democrats of America.
Muralitharan said typically when politicians try to relate to young voters, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s infamous “Pokemon go to the polls” moment during her 2016 presidential campaign, it can “come off as, like, really preachy or just out of touch” and “pandering.”
“Pandering is the best word to put it, but they’ve done it in such an effective way because they’ve allowed youth voices to be members of this team, to be the ones leading the messaging place,” said Muralitharan. “So I think they’ve done a fantastic job solely because they’re willing to treat youth voters as the stakeholders of today, which they are.”
Rotimi Adeoye, a 27-year-old DNC delegate from Pennsylvania, said Harris was campaigning on “such an impressive level that it’s really making sure she’s being seen” in every state.
The Democratic National Convention has in turn also embraced “brat,” with vendors selling “Demo(b)rat” hats and shirts and featuring plenty of lime green accents.
“Brat summer” was not the only internet reference plain to see; the viral Harris coconut memes also made appearances. A booth at the Dempalooza event was emblazoned with “the coconut club” in bright neon lights and a “menu” that included “she’s so bratwurst” and “mamalatini.” Another booth was giving out lime green bracelets that read “gun safety is brat.”
Harris’s campaign efforts to court young voters appear to be paying off. Multiple delegates and leading voices for Gen Z, including Muralitharan and Adeoye, expressed to the Washington Examiner a sense of excitement for Harris’s campaign.
Sam Weinberg, the 23-year-old executive director for the Gen Z think tank Path to Progress, told the Washington Examiner that the transition from Biden to Harris “has been incredibly invigorating.”
Micah Erfan, 20, said young voters were “were really down in the dumps” prior to Biden’s exit from the race.
“We weren’t excited to vote for Biden. We were voting against something,” said Erfan, who is a member of the Executive Committee of the Texas Democratic Party. “And finally, for the first time in a long time, for the first time, really, in my political lifetime, we feel like we’re voting for something like a real positive, forward-looking agenda. And she’s very exciting to us, and Tim Walz is very exciting.”
Jason Palmer, the Democrat who won American Samoa’s primary and co-founder of TOGETHER!, an organization that works to increase voter participation of young voters, noted the energy shift from young voters now that Harris is leading the ticket.
“I mean, to be honest, it was with Biden. It was almost like kind of sitting Shiva or going to a funeral. It was very, very difficult to get young people, like they said, ‘How can you support him?’” said Palmer. “But with Kamala, it’s action, it’s energy.”
The Gen Z DNC attendees also unanimously agreed that Harris would be a champion for the issues most important to them, including abortion rights, climate change, and student loan forgiveness.
“I think she will continue to try to, you know, pursue public student loan forgiveness, as President Biden has in the past, will aggressively fight climate change, as President Biden did with the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Jack Chrismon, a 19-year-old delegate from Texas. “And I do think she is more progressive on Gaza than President Biden is, and I think that is something that young voters are really passionate about so I’m happy to see that.”
As of Thursday, Harris’s campaign site does not feature an issues page. Harris has also changed her stance on a few policies since her 2020 campaign. Recently, her campaign notably said in a statement that she would not ban fracking, a significant policy flip-flop from 2020.
“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” the vice president told CNN during her 2020 presidential run.
Her campaign released the statement after former President Donald Trump attacked Harris on the issue, saying she wants “no fracking” during a campaign stop. She has also changed her stances on cash bail, Medicare-for-all, immigration and gun control throughout her political career.
Weinberg told the Washington Examiner that he believes Harris’s campaign is “on the right path,” but noted that young voters need to “hear that this ticket cares about abortion rights, they care about the climate crisis, they care about gun violence prevention.”
“I think we would like to see some more specific policy proposals from the campaign. We’re 78 days out, and there’s not an official platform on the Harris-Walz website,” said Weinberg. “That’s something we’re definitely pushing for. But once it’s up there, I’m sure that we’re going to see a lot of things that we want.”
But while Harris’s campaign appears to have the attention of young voters, it’s unclear if it will translate to votes in November.
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