Kamala Harris’ presidential bid energizes Blaise Puscavage.
The 22-year-old Democrat and student at East Stroudsburg University thinks that Harris has the potential to capture previously undecided voters.
“When it comes to seeing a candidate that can potentially beat Trump for the Democratic Party, I think Kamala is the best bet, rather than Joe Biden,” Puscavage said. “[Harris] is going to be able to resonate to a lot of those voters who might have felt a bit unsure about voting for Biden in this term.”
Local young Republicans remain skeptical. They urge voters to see beyond the memes and increased social media presence of Harris’ campaign and concentrate on real issues, such as the economy.
“I would love for young voters to listen to what the candidates have to say,” said 31-year-old John Lombardo, the Luzerne County Council president who doubles as chairman of the county Young Republicans group. “People want to know what your real solutions are. They don't want to see what your opinion is on the funny meme of the week.”
Biden lost the support of many young voters because of his administration’s involvement in the war in the Middle East and the state of the economy, according to a May University of Chicago poll.
After struggling in his debate with Republican nominee President Donald Trump, Biden, 81, faced pressure from voters and party elites to step aside and make way for his younger vice president.
With age a central issue this election, Harris’ 59 years might appeal to young voters more than Trump's 78.
The youth vote may matter. In 2020, Biden won voters between 18 and 23 years old and voters between 24 and 39 years old by about 20 percentage points, according to a June 2021 Pew Research poll. The same poll showed fewer than half of voters were Baby Boomers, people 56 to 74 years old. In 2016 and 2018, boomers constituted more than half of voters.
Democrats think the shakeup at the top of the their party's ticket has the potential to turn out young voters who were previously disengaged this year.
Harris’ campaign leaned into popular memes both about the vice president and ones that are trending on social media. For example, the campaign headquarters on X, formerly known as Twitter, rebranded in a “brat” theme, which features blocky black text over a lime green background.
This reflects the internet craze over British singer Charli XCX’s latest album “Brat.”
Harris supporters adopted coconut and palm tree emojis as an emblem of their support for the vice president, inspired by quotes from a viral video of the candidate that has come to symbolize her campaign.
The video refers to Harris quoting her mother to highlight the importance of remembering the needs of older generations while uplifting younger generations.
"You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you," she said during a White House ceremony.
Embracing the memes and viral videos, @kamalahq on X changed its bio to “Providing context,” reflecting another quote from the viral speech.
“The branding that she is doing is very smart,” Puscavage said. “People like that she can crack a joke and that she could laugh about herself. I think people are really starting to see that this younger candidate can align themselves with the joke and have it feel a bit more authentic.”
The Biden campaign played with internet trends and memes, but Puscavage said that came off as inauthentic to younger audiences. 23-year-old Grace Berlew, deputy director for the northeast chapter of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats, feels spoken to by the rebranding of Harris’ campaign.
“She's speaking the right language to connect with voters who were disengaged before, but now suddenly are feeling more connected to what could be and what she could bring to the table that we were so missing before,” Berlew said.
She said the campaign headquarters account's followers on X significantly increased after the rebrand.
While the Democratic young voters feel Harris better represents the Democratic Party, Lombardo considers the candidate switch an inside job that disregards the primary votes of Democrats.
“Many people are concerned that the voters of the Democratic Party are not having their voice heard,” Lombardo said. “Because over 14 million people voted for President Biden to be the nominee and now, the insiders of the Democratic Party were saying, we don't think that he's competent enough to run for president.”
Samuel Johnston, the 27-year-old vice chair and treasurer of the Wayne County Young Republicans, said Trump's path to victory lies in matching the Democrats’ current momentum.
“Our main focus is just keeping people energized, making sure people are getting boots on the ground and then actually trying to make a difference in their local community,” Johnston said. “If we lose sight of the end goal, Democrats are going to get out on ground. They're going to take this chaos and confusion and actually focus it towards getting registration, getting people voting.”
With the high cost of living, Lombardo urged young voters to look to the Republican Party for solutions come Election Day.
“It's very hard to be a young person and work a full time job and afford a home and groceries and gas,” he said. “So, whatever candidate is going to do the best to make our lives a little bit easier is the candidate that I would highly recommend that they look into supporting.”
Johnston sees areas of opportunity for Republicans to capitalize, especially given Harris' history as a prosecutor. He said Republicans can take advantage of Trump’s status as a convicted felon and draw in voters that care about criminal justice and prison reform.
“A lot of people believe that Trump is going to be pushing more for more reform and pulling away the power from these prosecutors,” Johnston said.
Still behind Trump, younger Republicans believe he can win big in November.
“As far as young Republicans are concerned, we're very energized for President Trump,” Lombardo said. “We really would like to see him get back into office.”
Johnston and Lombardo believe the excitement around Harris’ campaign will fade, but the Democrats are hopeful.
They think Harris stands a better chance against Trump than Biden, especially because the age and personality differences between Harris and Trump draw such a stark contrast between the two candidates.
“How calm and eloquent she is and hearing her speak in contrast, it really highlights how unhinged and completely disconnected Trump’s rants sound,” Berlew said.
