Eve Levenson鈥檚 job looked very different just over a month ago.
The 24-year-old is the National Youth Engagement Director for Vice President Harris鈥檚 presidential campaign, a role she鈥檚 had since the beginning of the year when President Biden was seeking re-election. Her task has been the same throughout: get young voters to the polls this fall.
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, 鈥楰amala,鈥� 鈥榩olitical girlie,鈥� and 鈥榲oting era,鈥� there鈥檚 a new playing field.
鈥淚t's been so great to see the attention and the energy online,鈥� Levenson said. 鈥淲e're really focused on how do we make sure that we maintain that energy and how do we then harness that energy?鈥�
That鈥檚 a goal shared by many young organizers also working to rally youth support after a 鈥� the same demographic that supported Biden four years ago but soured on him over the past year.
But making that support stick is a daunting task given how recently Harris launched her campaign and how historically unreliable young voters are in consistently turning out to vote 鈥� despite notable increases over the past decade.
Levenson can already point to promising signs for the campaign鈥檚 organizing push. She has built a program for the Harris campaign to tap into, launching a last spring that will start back up as students return to campus this fall.
鈥淲e've seen such a great influx of folks coming into our campaign,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e've seen more sign-ups for our student program in the last few weeks than we had seen in the entirety of the time before. We've seen more folks signing up for our events. We鈥檝e seen more folks applying for those jobs. But we need to keep up the energy, and we need that to continue.鈥�
On top of a among this age group, Harris has benefited from online. Her campaign is running with it, adopting and getting more active on social media, particularly TikTok, where they鈥檝e seen a massive increase in engagement 鈥� though the campaign still trails the
It鈥檚 also not just likes, shares and polls. Just days after the DNC ended, the campaign reported since Harris announced her run. Notably, a third of the donations from this past week alone were from first-time contributors and a fifth of that from young voters.
It鈥檚 all wrapped up into a collective boost of enthusiasm that was felt among attendees at the convention last week.
As Minnesota Governor and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz took the stage at the DNC鈥檚 youth council meeting, the crowd of largely young people erupted in cheers and chants of 鈥渃oach.鈥�
Walz didn鈥檛 mince words when explaining the power young voters could have, especially in battleground states where the margins may be incredibly tight.
鈥淚t's going to be won in the trenches,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's going to be won by your demographic for the most part. If we can turn you out and get you to vote, that's how it's going to be done. And it'll be you who elected the first woman president of the United States.鈥�
That excitement is something Blake Robinson, a 21-year-old delegate from Georgia, said he could feel as he got ready to head over to the convention center hours before Harris accepted the presidential nomination.
鈥淲hat we wanted out of the Democratic Party was energy,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e 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.鈥�
But splits remain within the party and potentially within this voting bloc.
Organizers aligned with the 鈥楿ncommitted鈥� movement, which the to protest President Biden鈥檚 response to the Israel-Hamas war, took issue with the DNC鈥檚 decision not to allow a Palestinian American to speak at the convention.
And while the war is not the top issue overall that young voters care about , it remains a concern, particularly among some progressive, Arab American and Muslim voters 鈥� groups that typically side with Democrats.
To Robinson, the DNC needed to show voters they wanted to hear from all factions of their party. Organizers had at the convention.
鈥淲e know how much this issue impacts young people,鈥� he explained. 鈥淕iving a Palestinian-American a place on this stage is going to be important. We need to make sure that we're including 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.鈥�
Copyright 2024 NPR
