With the upcoming 2024 presidential election in November, there is a voter demographic that both presidential candidates rely on: Gen Z. Historically, young voters are less inclined to get out and vote, but with the numerous political events that happened over the summer, the newest generation of voters are registering more than ever before. Between the first presidential debate of 2024 there was a major switch in the position of the Democrats and their nominee, as well as a historically tragic moment for this year’s Republican nominee. Both sides of Gen Z have brought a political surge to TikTok, and an upcoming debate is bringing excitement to all of the United States. The preparation of this election brings youth engagement which has never been seen before in politics. According to CIRCLE, the civic research center at Tufts University, 57% of voters 18-34 are extremely likely to vote in this year’s election, a 10% increase from CIRCLE’s 2020 presidential election poll.
The first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump drew concern to undecided Americans. According to CNN’s fact check after the debate, Trump made around thirty false claims while Biden made nine. Although Biden’s material was mainly factual, his delivery of content and lack of energy led many to question both candidates.
Democrats and Republicans alike began to doubt President Biden’s ability to lead the US through immigration, healthcare, economy, NATO affairs, and other policies for another four years. Along with all of the unease, Gen Z continued to make lighthearted jokes on social media over the unserious one-liners tossed back and forth between each candidate, continuing the worry of other Americans regarding the election.
Nearly three weeks after the debate, Trump held a campaign rally in Pennsylvania where a lone gunman fired eight rounds of shots resulting in an injury to President Trump along with the death of a spectator. The gunman himself was shot and killed by snipers while the Secret Service escorted Trump away from the podium.
The day of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Gen Z Republicans appeared to repost the historical photos of Trump pumping his fist in the air while he mouths the word “fight” three times. In an interview on Minnesota Public Radio, two Gen Z Republicans accredit the inspiring nature of the photos as they acknowledge the amount of help it brought to his campaign.
While Gen Z Republicans became excited about the inspirational message Trump sent with his historical reaction to the assassination attempt, Gen Z Democrats continued to worry about the ability of Biden to strengthen his already weak campaign. Democratic officials and members of the Democratic party continued discussions over whether Biden dropping out would completely save or ruin the party’s chances in the election.
The week after the assassination attempt on Trump, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced that President Biden was COVID-19 positive which prompted the president to return to Delaware where he would quarantine. Associated Press reported that President Biden decided to drop out of his re-election campaign while in isolation with First Lady Jill Biden and a circle of others close to him. Democrats were filled with panic and excitement for a younger candidate–most favorably Vice President Kamala Harris.
As the idea of her campaign was spread all over social media, Gen Z Democrats on TikTok began to make edits and memes of Harris’ past speeches to songs from Charli xcx’s trending album, Brat. Harris also received an endorsement from Charli xcx on Twitter when the artist stated that Kamala is “brat.” While many older generations were confused by Gen Z’s language, it created additional discussion behind Harris’ campaign. With the help of Gen Z’s skyrocketing engagement with the idea of Harris for president, mostly all of the attention regarding a new Democratic nominee was drawn towards her. With all the momentum she received from social media and the news, along with her foregoing favorability, Harris was officially nominated by enough Democratic delegates to be the official Democratic nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris would bring diversity to the White House being the first female of color as president. Gen Z Democrats got excited by the possibility of newly acquired representation and diversity. According to Voto Latino, an organization which encourages young, Latino voters to register, Harris’ ascent has intrigued young Latinos to register. Since 25% of Gen Z is Latino as of 2019, Harris will experience an increasing support from Latino youth. Additionally, according to a NextGen poll, young women prefer Harris over Trump by a 36 point margin.
This unexpected election craze created by Gen Z on TikTok has changed the whole track of the 2024 election. This came to the attention of Trump’s campaign as he went on a stream with popular Twitch creator, Adin Ross. Ross’ endorsement of Trump helped target first time voters as Ross connected Trump with trends of Gen Z. Ross gifted Trump a Tesla cyber truck with Trump’s historic assassination attempt survival photo as the wrap on the car. Many photos of the moment were shared on social media.
Harris and Trump continue to fight for the majority of the youth vote through an online battlefield while Gen Z’s interest in and discussion over the upcoming election has continued to blow up as election related events continue to transpire.
With the upcoming debate between Trump and Harris, many Americans including members of Gen Z are intrigued with the outcome as an entire generation is now excited to register to vote.
