Kamala Harris, the Democrat party candidate of America Election 2024 is already turning in the youth vote bank to herself. Though opponent candidate republican Donald Trump was ahead of Biden in previous polls. After Harris entered the scene, the situation gradually inclined towards Kamala Harris.
The survey, published Wednesday from NBC News and SurveyMonkey shows that if the election was to take place now, Harris would command about 50% to 60% percent vote of the youth vote while Trump would have a chance to pull in 34% vote so far. Therefore, young people do have the power to seal the deal for the candidates in the coming election.
Background
Kamala Harris, is already the first one of Black and Asian descendant in the political history of America. Her diverse background with a black father and Indian mother earned her the honor of being the first black American in that position. Moreover, she is also first South Asian American vice president of the USA. Above all, she is the first woman to hold this post. Harris was officially chosen for a presidential nominee following her victory in voting polls held by the party delegates. Partially, poor performance of Joe Biden with his republican candidate televised on TV nationally was also vital in this.
Why Kamala Harris?
Many tabloids and newspapers stated that Harris is in the “leading position” among the American youth groups. The winning candidate is supposed to be the personality who understands Gen Z as they are, the executive director of Run Gen Z, Mason Morgan told this to Newsweek. Run Gen Z is a group that hires young conservatives for local and state office. Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, the president of NextGen, also echoed this by saying that Harris is capable of apprehending the culture of young people.
USA has never had an woman president since their independence. And, Harris’s popularity is increasing over time. Therefore, the possibilities of having their first ever woman president is hovering in the mind of Americans.
Actions That Attracted Youth Attention
Events with young people: One smart move Harris managed to put out is using digital media campaign to attract young supporters. Recently, Harris invited many of the online influencers to join her campaign hoping to disseminate her messages around. Opponent mr. Donald Trump is catching up with the trend as well by participating in online streaming with young content producers.
Youth Friendly Speeches: Kamala Harris consciously include young group while delivering a speech publicly, some of which directly target young groups. Harris called upon young people to grasp the gist of the election for their own benefit when they are back to school. She said that in a prerecorded video posted to a new campaign landing page. Personalizing the content to that level helps her getting closer to her people. Specially as American youth is not traditionally interested in getting involved or casting electoral votes in many states as surveys found out.
Digital Ad Campaign: Kamala Harris also announced the biggest digital ad campaign saying it was budgeted higher than any pre-media persuasion ever. Also, no political entity ever spent that much amount. The funded investments is to seek attention from online users especially young people on Hulu, YouTube, Pandora, and other sites. The amount ($200m) is even higher than television ad booking ($170m).
Harris Stand on Key Disputed Issues
Gun Safety: One of the reasons the young people is worried about the candidate’s position on Gun safety law. Kamala Harris is far ahead of his opponent regarding this issue. She had a long history of backing off gun safety regulations during her earlier time in politics. Harris defended legal challenges to establish California’s gun law when she was the state’s attorney general. This has made the states pull in $750m in federal funds to support crisis intervention programs in the last few years.
Palestine-Israel Issue: Kamala Harris is more coherent than Joe Biden was on the ongoing crisis in Gaza.She said during her DNC acceptance speech that she will ensure the security of Israel and the release of their hostages besides restoring dignity and peace for Gaza. Ms. Harris has been upfront about her position on Israel-Gaza issue criticizing Israel blatantly.
She along with her colleagues in the administration called for an “immediate cease-fire” to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. However, she is not in favor of imposing an arms embargo on Israel. She is claiming that Israel has the right to earth and capability to defend itself.
In Conclusion
Kamala Harris is planning her outreach campaign to young people. This is to have an increase in support among Gen Z and younger millennial voters. Besides, her campaign will double its youth organizing staff around the country. They will also work to launch a college campus tour in battleground states.
However, one major concern some election experts raised that young people had appeared no show and hence not casting their votes earlier. This is also a challenge both candidates need to face and resolve to ensure young presence at the election. For example, political campaigns need to include more young people, let them participate and engage.
