With November looming ever closer, the presidential campaigns are heating up with their respective candidates trying to find an inning with younger voters. But are their attempts working?
Nowadays when watching the news or updates about a presidential campaign you are less likely to hear about policy and more likely to hear about whatever meme is more likely to garner votes. Take, for example, Kamala Harris’s embracement of the brat summer meme, which utilizes the musician’s Charlie XCX album name- brat- as a lifestyle for Harris to adopt. This led to her campaign, quickly putting out memes and edits of Harris using Charlie XCX’s songs.
However, she isn’t the only one desperate to gain appeal with younger voters. Donald Trump recently sat down with Adin Ross, a Twitch streamer popular with the younger crowd. He also met up with Logan Paul, a once-famous YouTube content creator now a professional wrestler.
It is safe to say that Harris and Trump are combatting to find younger voters in drastically different places. In the 2024 presidential election, 40.8 million members of Gen Z (ages 18-27 in 2024) will be eligible to vote, including 8.3 million newly eligible youth (ages 18-19 in 2024) who will have aged into the electorate since the 2022 midterm election. So it is now or never to try to reach these voters, but are these attempts at connecting themselves with popular Gen Z things resulting in potential voters?
Hillary Clinton and Past Attempts at Younger Voters
In July 2016, Hilary Clinton, at one of her campaign rallies used the phrase “Pokémon Go to the polls!” Which was met with a slight smattering of laughs in person.
What was initially meant as a lighthearted, slightly cringy moment meant to entice voters and think she was relatable, instead turned into a massive storm that caused less laughing with and more laughing at. The hostility towards her increased the different tactics she used to get attention. This included inviting various celebrities to perform, such as Katy Perry, and enlisting Al Gore as a climate change activist for her campaign.
To most, especially the younger voters who were already voting for her over Trump, these were the awful mistakes that eventually led to her downfall. These bids in trying to reach them ended up making her look embarrassing and artificial. And not in any way that was particularly appealing like Trump was.
However, times have changed over the years. The past campaigns of Obama and McCain are over. Now new strategies are making the rounds and it doesn’t look like they are going away anytime soon. Candidates now mostly focus on the aspects of relatability or funniness rather than what they represent to benefit any person.
How Are People Reacting Now?
@xoyoungluv project coconut 🌴🥥 @Kamala HQ // #kamala #kamalaharris #kamalaharrisedit #election #kharris #edit #aftereffects #fypage #projectcoconut #project2025 #sheatethat #mother #fypシ゚viral #xybca #luvha #xoyoungluv #aftereffectsedits #aeedit #ae #youthinkyoufelloutofacoconuttree #xoxo #queen ♬ original sound – xo, youngluv
As mentioned previously, in the past mentioning or trying to become a meme to appear cool to younger audiences was seen as a death sentence. Now though Harris’s embracement of the “brat” meme and so on has made Gen Z look at her through a new lens.
Excitement over Kamala Harris as a potential Democratic candidate for the presidential election has elated many young voters. Harris’s campaign embracing the memes and edits has caused many to soften up to her rather than turn away. Such as the one above by @xoyoungluv on TikTok.
The complete difference in reaction compared to past elections could be due to a number of different things. Could it be because of the fact that Harris and Clinton are completely different in their personas? Or could it be the fact that Clinton was mainly trying to appeal to millennials while Harris is appealing to Gen Z?
Regardless of what changed to garner this difference in reactions, one thing is for sure, it seems to be working.
What To Look Out For
Of course, these campaign strategies don’t appeal to everyone. Some people find endorsements like these to be distasteful and a mockery of politics. In fact, many took offense to Harris’s use of Megan Thee Stallion, who performed at one of her rallies.
Older members of Gen Z claim to see through the “meming” and want more from Harris, such as actual plans. They would like her to address the issues of inflation and the United States’ involvement in the Palestine and Isreal conflict. These are just some of the issues people feel are being looked past.
Additionally, it is vital to recognize both campaigns are doing whatever they can to reach the side of Gen Z that is particularly enamored with the more lighthearted kind of content that will result in more votes. Such as reaching out to popular trends, influencers, and celebrities. In all, less talking about politics and issues. Now this should not be framed as a good thing or something aspirational. Many are still ignorant of what policies each candidate represents.
But it does demonstrate the changing of times. Although we won’t get a clear picture until after the election, these appeals toward younger voters seem to be working. Nonetheless, it is hard to say what it means for future elections.
