The youth vote is traditionally very difficult to obtain: voters aged 18 to 24 have a certain preference for the youth vote. lowest participation rates of all age groups. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign could be a game changer.
Since Harris announced Sunday that she would run for president after President Biden dropped out of the race, her campaign has gone all out to appeal to Gen Z. They’ve turned her campaign’s X page (formerly Twitter) into a fly-on-the-wall for Gen Z, decorated with Easter eggs that younger voters will recognize but that will go over the heads of older voters.
“Summer of BRATs”
For one, its X banner—the large vertical photo at the top of the page—is a simple “kamala hq” against a neon green background. This is a direct reference to the cover of British pop star Charli XCX’s June album, “BRAT,” which evokes the messy revelry of a young woman’s summer. Since the album took off, memes centered around the “summer of brats” have taken over the internet, reaching new heights once Charli XCX herself was created. declaredSunday, that “kamala IS a kid”.
The post, which had 51 million views at press time, generated a firestorm among young voters, who debated whether to support Harris’ progressive background or reject her because of her law enforcement history (“No, Kamala is a cop,” one disgruntled person responded).
David Hogg, a Gen Z gun control activist who survived the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, wrote on X that “the impact that Charli’s tweet may have had on the youth vote is not negligible.” He then updated his followers, confirming that “Nancy Pelosi was informed of the significance of Brat.”
Videos of Harris dancing, talking and laughing to Charli XCX music have exploded on TikTok since she announced her candidacy, prompting young voters to declare their allegiance to her: “Here’s the moment, go now,” one commenter wrote. published on the TikTok account “kamalahq.” Another simply said, “she’s going to win.”
Coconut trees
Candidates have tried to reach Gen Z voters with memes in the past, often to no avail. Gen Z and millennials are still horrified by memories of Hillary Clinton’s famous “Pokémon goes to the polls” line from 2016, a reference to the mobile game that went viral. Even this cycle, Biden’s promotion of his campaign meme, Dark Brandon, was widely stove as being embarrassing and even complacent towards the youth vote.
What makes this time different? Partly because Harris’ campaign has a long history of using a comedic tool. popular with Generation Z: self-mockery.
Rather than sticking to what makes her beautiful, Harris took a risk and embarked on a viral meme who mocked her. In the now infamous “coconut speech” last May, Harris talked about thinking communally rather than individually, before sharing an anecdote from her mother.
“She would sometimes give us a hard time and say, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you kids. Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris laughs. “You exist in the context of everything around you and what came before you.”
Many people criticized the speech and made jokes about Harris, saying she seemed “drunk” Or “weird.” And after she announced her candidacy on Sunday, the term “coconut tree” became topical, leaving her vulnerable to a new round of attacks.
Instead, Harris took the lead, calling the “kamalahq” bio “providing context,” a reference to the meme. Her followers, dubbed “kHive” after Beyoncé’s fan group “BeyHive,” followed suit, declaring themselves supporters of the coconut tree.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis tweeted On Sunday, a coconut, palm tree and American flag emoji declared its support. Anderson Clayton, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, published enthusiastically: “We all fell out of the coconut tree today in a gym full of democrats!!!”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who was seen as one of Harris’ rivals for the nomination after Biden leaves office — and who could become his running mate — showed his support for Harris on Monday by ask“Do you think I just fell out of a coconut tree?”
So, will all these memes succeed in attracting Gen Z? Eric Dahan, CEO and co-founder of Open Influence, an influencer marketing company, said Fortune that memes could function as a “primary weapon in politics.”
“Americans get their news largely through social media, so memes are the perfect way to deliver bite-sized information and spin it into a sham,” Dahan said.
“I think (Kamala Harris) is the only one that makes sense. She’s going to get the votes that Biden couldn’t get,” said Will, a Gen Z construction worker from Portland. said The Guardian. “Democrats need a bold initiative and I think this is exactly what we need.
