Harris campaign leans into pop culture to attract young voters

Aug. 3—Since becoming the presumptive Democratic candidate for president two weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris and her team have leaned into social media trends and pop culture to connect with young voters.

Energy among Democratic voters was high as the news of President Joe Biden's departure from the 2024 race spread. The Harris team jumped on that wave of energy and is still riding it out, according to political experts.

"Her campaign has benefited from the massive jolt of momentum that comes from the grassroots feeling as if it was listened to when President Biden pulled out of the race," Dr. Nicholas Clark, department head of political science at Susquehanna University, said. "In some ways, the grassroots was energized simply by his exiting the race, but I think others perceived it as the torch being passed to the next generation."

Catherine Jacobson, 20, of Lewisburg, is studying ethics, politics and economics at Yale University. Jacobson said she was only 9 years old when former President Barack Obama was reelected, but said she has never seen more excitement for a Democratic candidate than what she is seeing for Harris.

"Harris is fueling this excitement. She is not only sharp and witty, but her distinct laugh and huge smile are energizing American voters. Harris has managed to convey the urgency of this election while simultaneously lifting my spirits," Jacobson said. "Given the political turmoil and stress Americans have been under these last eight years, her positive energy gives us hope — hope that we're seeing in the form of record-breaking donations and engagement."

The Harris campaign quickly took to social media, starting a TikTok account around July 26 and posting more than 10 videos within the first week.

Most of the content on the account features celebrities including Lance Bass, Megan Thee Stallion and a production room for RuPaul's Drag Race. In the videos where the vice president does not appear with celebrities themselves, their hit songs are featured, as was noted by Dr. E. Michele Ramsey, Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Penn State Berks.

"These background songs punctuate her position as a very strong and formidable woman," Ramsey said.

While other campaigns have used similar tactics to connect with voters, Ramsey suggested no candidate has done so at this level.

"While we've often seen candidates engage the youth vote (e.g., Clinton playing the saxophone on Arsenio Hall), I'm not sure we've seen the embrace of young celebrity culture like this before from a candidate," Ramsey said. "I've not seen this kind of ground-level engagement with youth and their popular culture in all of my years of following campaigns."

Though he is not yet of legal voting age, Gibson O'Mealy, 16, of Lewisburg, is already very involved in politics and is the vice chair of the Pennsylvania High School Democrats.

O'Mealy agreed with Ramsey's assessment of Harris' social media strategy.

"President Biden and his campaign made strides to get in touch with my generation and others, but Vice President Harris has gone above and beyond," the teen said. "Following along with current trends, consistent posts that make people laugh, etc. are all good characteristics of her social media apparatus."

Jacobson believes the Harris team's social media strategy is effectively reaching her generation.

"Young people have so many ideas and plans for what we want our country to look like. Yet, historically, we have low voter turnout rates. Using social media to the extent Harris does reminds young people that we have a place in politics. Not only do we have a place, but we have a responsibility," Jacobson said. "Young people know how to share information clearly and concisely. In today's world of misinformation, Harris is smart to call on our generation to contribute one of the many skills young people have."

Today, social media is more than just sharing selfies. Jacobson said her generation uses it as a platform to promote change.

"Young people are critical — we are constantly looking at the world around us to see how we can fit in. What most of us are finding is that we can't. Housing prices, student loans, health care costs, and climate change are making it more and more difficult for young voters to envision how they will make a life for themselves," Jacobson said. "If you hop on your kid's social media, you'll see thousands of young people trying to change this."

In O'Mealy's opinion, an active social media presence is essential to connecting with young voters.

"Fundamentally, social media is how people communicate to a wide audience. That audience is mainly younger people such as millennials or my generation, Gen Z," O'Mealy said. "The easiest way for political campaigns to get into direct contact with us is via Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc. Being able to click on an app and see a video of the vice president of the United States talking to my face is a stark reminder that we are living in a new age; both politically and technologically."

Donald Kuziak, 23, of Danville, is the vice chairman of the Montour County Republican Committee. Kuziak said he thinks the efforts of political candidates to relate to Gen Z via social media trends come across as awkward.

"I think the majority of the time, especially on the Democratic side with things like 'Pokemon go to the polls' and recent things that Kamala Harris has done, it comes off to Gen Z people, especially men, as cringy," Kuziak said. "I think their efforts come off as cringe and it turns us off to what the actual policies are."

Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump is also on TikTok. His first video was shared on June 1 at a UFC event. Trump has less than ten videos on his account, a few featuring social media influencers and fighters Logan and Jake Paul.

Kuziak said he spends most of his time scrolling social media on X, formerly Twitter, where Trump is not an active user.

"He doesn't post anything, so I get all my news about him and what's happening from other people like Tucker Carlson or Daily Wire, but I also get things from people that show up on my 'for you' section," Kuziak said.

Supporters rally remotely

Aside from Harris' growing presence on social media, the masses of young people supporting her through their own accounts is also noteworthy, according to Ramsey.

"Groups of supporters have rallied themselves on social media, creating groups for different demographics and other populations, such as 'Swifties for Harris' on national, regional and local levels," Ramsey said. "In my view, the Harris campaign is effectively engaging the younger voting populations by meeting them where they are on platforms like TikTok."

Widespread Zoom meetings have also attracted hundreds of thousands of voters rallying to support the democratic candidate. Ramsey said 44,000 Black women on Zoom raised $1.5 million in only three hours, "White Dudes for Harris" had almost 200,000 attendees and a number of celebrity guests and raised about $4 million dollars, a "White Women: Answer the Call" Zoom meeting boasted over 200,000 attendees and raised $11 million dollars.

Similar online meetings are already in the works. Ramsey said she's heard Swifties are mobilizing for their own effort soon.

Rhetoric

Trump and his vice president pick JD Vance's gender and race-based attacks against Harris have become their own sort of trends, but perhaps not in the way the Republican candidates intended, experts said.

"Many TikTokers are posting and dancing to a mix of music and J.D. Vance's comments about the country being run by a 'bunch of childless cat ladies' while laughing at the absurdity of the comment or creating mixes of music with Vance's older quotes about Trump, including 'I'm a never Trump guy' and 'I don't like him,'" Ramsey said. "Thus, some of the more incendiary and attacking rhetoric from the Trump campaign is being used against them in pretty creative ways."

Clark agreed these statements from Vance have backfired and said Trump should take this into consideration.

"It is hard to tell what will sway those voters, but I suspect the race and gender-based attacks could backfire," he said. "They have certainly backfired on his own VP nominee, JD Vance, so President Trump will need to seek more nuanced arguments in this race."

Celebrity endorsements

As is evident through Harris' TikTok content, several celebrities have made their choice of candidate known. Trump has secured his fair share of celebrity supports as well.

While Clark said he does not think celebrity endorsements have an impact on political races anymore, Ramsey thinks they remain important.

"Figures in popular culture can hold sway over groups of fans," she said.

Though Jacobson said celebrity endorsements have not affected her, personally, she believes they can still influence voters.

"The more content we have circulating about the importance of voting in this election, the better," Jacobson said. "Statements from celebrities circulate much faster than a statement from someone like me."

For Kuziak, the potential impact of endorsements depend on the source and their background.

"It depends who the celebrities are. Kamala Harris had Megan Thee Stallion at a rally. That's not a politically influential celebrity, but somebody like Dana White who is talking about policy — it makes sense," Kuziak said. "It depends which celebrity you're talking about.

"Nobody really cares what Luke Skywalker thinks of politics," Kuziak said in reference to Star Wars actor Mark Hamill's endorsement for the Democratic candidate.

O'Mealy also said he tends to err on the side of caution and thinks taking celebrities' stances to heart can become a "slippery slope."

"Most have become famous for reasons totally apolitical such as acting in movies, playing sports, or rising the ranks on social media," O'Mealy said. "It's not to say they don't know what they're talking about — many do — however, Americans should form their own viewpoints separate from their favorite celebrity."

Though experts had differing opinions on if the support of celebrities would impact the presidential election, Clark and Ramsey each noted Taylor Swift could be the voice that has the most sway.

"Some have speculated that Taylor Swift could actually have an affect," Clark said. "If she did have any, I think it would be to convince more young people to actually vote."

Ramsey explained a statement from Swift would not be the first political effort from the ultra-famous pop star.

"One social media post by Swift in September encouraging citizens to register to vote added 35,000 voters to the polls," she said. "That number scared some Republicans enough to begin publicly accusing her of being a governmental psychological operative for the Biden campaign."

Campaigning continues

The 2024 presidential election has been a "rollercoaster" so far and Clark said he doesn't think the ride is coming to a stop anytime soon.

"There are a little under 100 days left and we cannot anticipate what else might happen that will bear on the race," he said.

O'Mealy and his peers are just getting started. "There's a new sense of vigor here," he said.

The last two elections came down to around 100,000 to 200,000 voters in three to four key states, Clark explained. This year's election will likely be similar, with Pennsylvania being crucial.

While Harris has the momentum right now, Trump had an extended period over the last month, probably the most he has ever had, according to Clark.

"This is my way of saying, we have some idea of where and how the race will be decided, but cannot yet predict the factors that will ultimately influence the outcome as so much has happened and still could," Clark said.