US Vice President Kamala Harris’s late entry into the White House race has galvanized young Democrats, a group whose participation will be crucial if the party hopes to defeat Donald Trump in November.
When President Joe Biden announced on July 21 — with two simple messages on X — that he was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Harris, 28-year-old Stevie O’Hanlon said she felt “relief.”
Concerns about the 81-year-old Biden’s mental acuity and his grim polling numbers against Trump had sparked “a sense of dread amongst many young people,” said O’Hanlon, a member of the youth climate activism group Sunrise Movement.
But Harris, whose candidacy is not even two weeks old, “has generated a degree of enthusiasm that was just not there for Biden,” she explained.
For Ethan Nichols, a 22-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, that new energy is “palpable on the ground.”
“Friends of mine who are not politically engaged, I’ve seen them reposting memes about Kamala Harris, and, you know, seemingly so excited to finally have a campaign that they feel inspired by,” said the Democratic college student, who is very active in politics.
Harris, who is 59, wants to capitalize on the youthful zeal and has been playing up the fact that the 78-year-old Trump is nearly 20 years her senior.
Her campaign team has been bombarding social media, especially TikTok, with videos of Harris surrounded by rap stars like Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo, who once fronted the hip-hop trio Migos.
Those clips quickly racked up millions of views.
Harris also made an appearance last week on an episode of the reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — taped before Biden left the race — and gave a virtual speech to a group of young Democrats.
“In this election, we are counting on you to energize, to organize and mobilize,” she said.
Harris, who is 59, wants to capitalize on the youthful zeal and has been playing up the fact that the 78-year-old Trump is nearly 20 years her senior.
Her campaign team has been bombarding social media, especially TikTok, with videos of Harris surrounded by rap stars like Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo, who once fronted the hip-hop trio Migos.
Those clips quickly racked up millions of views.
Harris also made an appearance last week on an episode of the reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — taped before Biden left the race — and gave a virtual speech to a group of young Democrats.
“In this election, we are counting on you to energize, to organize and mobilize,” she said.
