As Democrats from across the country gathered in Chicago to watch Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accept their nominations for president and vice president, the pair attempted to appeal to a united coalition of Democratic voters while mobilizing younger voters. Throughout the convention, Democrats paid special attention to young voters, emphasizing their campaign’s social media presence and selecting speakers to appeal to Generation Z.
In addition to thousands of credentialed members of the media, more than 200 social media creators were invited to cover the convention for their audiences. Influencers such as Deja Foxx and Olivia Julianna were also invited to speak on the main stage.
On the second night of the convention, Nabela Noor, an influencer with more than 11 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, shared her personal struggles with fertility and emphasized the importance of preserving access to in vitro fertilization. Throughout the convention, Democrats highlighted Republican’s record of restricting access to IVF.
“For many women, IVF is the only choice,” Noor said. “That choice, and more, is at stake in November. The freedom to plan your family. The hope of having a family at all. I am here to stand with everyone fighting for our reproductive freedoms. Because my daughters, and yours, deserve every option, every hope, every possible future.”
The convention also included an array of celebrity speakers, such as Oprah Winfrey and Kerry Washington, in an attempt to engage young voters. On the third night of the convention, Mindy Kaling spoke about her friendship with Harris and the bond they shared as the daughters of immigrants.
“We immediately hit it off,” Kaling said. “We talked about the love we have for our moms, who had both passed away from cancer. Both of our mothers were immigrants from India, who came to America and committed their lives to serving others.”
At a meeting of the DNC’s Youth Council, which includes all DNC members under 36, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., called on young Democrats to continue a legacy of activism historically led by young people.
“This is a room full of activists, community and movement builders, advocates, disruptors of the unjust status quo and when necessary, agitators,” Pressley said. “Young people have been at the forefront of every major movement in our history. Marching with Martin (Luther King Jr.) and Malcolm (X), protesting South African apartheid, sounding the alarms of the climate crisis, occupying campuses across the United States to call for an end to the Vietnam War and to stop the unconscionable violence in Gaza.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, 19-year-old Stella Camerlengo, the youngest convention delegate from Michigan, encouraged her peers to vote in November.
“Voting is a privilege, it is a right that you have been given as an American citizen and you should not be taking that for granted,” Camerlengo said. “Obviously, I’m 19, and this is my first presidential election, and I just want to make sure that other people understand that this is really the strongest way to make your voice heard. If you want to make change, if you want to see change, you need to get to the polls and vote.”
Daily News Editor Mary Corey can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu.
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