Entertainment

How Democrats Are Winning With Social Media and Influencers in the 2024 Election

Published

2m ago

Sep 12, 2024 / 7091 Views

Evan Walker

From welcoming social media influencers to diving headfirst into meme culture, here’s how the Democrats have inched ahead in the 2024 election.

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is a breath of fresh air. For one, she’s a woman. For another, she’s not an elderly white man — far from it, in fact. Deeply rooted in the heritage and culture of her forefathers, who were of South Asian and Jamaican descent, US Vice President Harris is the antithesis of everything we’ve come to expect of American Politics. In a world that grows increasingly disenchanted by its leaders, the Democratic revival may be just what the doctor ordered.

Within the context of our ever-connected world, it comes as no surprise that social media has become an incredible weapon for swaying public opinion. Come election season, its power is amplified by factors of a thousand and more. While many politicians have adapted to the social media ages, few have leveraged its power the way pop culture influencers have managed. As we draw closer to the 2024 US Elections, one thing stands stark and true: Kamala Harris and the Democrats have found a winning strategy for social media, finding returns in a way few other politicians have succeeded.

When ‘same old’ becomes stale

Of late, politics has become a wearying subject, with even the most tried and tested of pundits fading into obscurity as history seemed destined to repeat itself. On one side: Republican nominee, billionaire, and former president, Donald Trump. On the other: Former vice president under Barack Obama, former US senator of Delaware, and incumbent president of the United States, Joe Biden.

While an ocean of distinction separates their political agendas, even their staunchest supporters cannot deny their similarities. Most jarringly, they are white, male, and old enough to be twice retired. To put it simply, Donald Trump and Joe Biden feel a little like dated mascots in businesses that are struggling to step into the twenty-first century. Not quite relics (that would be disrespectful to President Biden), but not quite what we need to revive the tired old cogs of America’s political landscape, which has been traditionally dominated by — you guessed it, older white men.

In a nutshell, American politics has devolved into a stale state of affairs, one that has become tiresome across the decades. Quite frankly, it’s just not giving what it needs to attract the current demographic of up-and-coming voters — Gen-Z and younger Millennials. To quote the trend that’s currently coming up tops on TikTok, it’s not very demure, and it’s not very cutesy.

And so, imagine our surprise when American Politics blew up on Gen-Z TikTok following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 elections. With the proliferation of social media and user-generated video content, these American elections have become the first of its kind.

To date, we have seen social media become a valuable battleground for gaining massive influence amongst the highly coveted Gen-Z demographic. We have watched critics calling out the rampant and irresponsible use of AI to spread misinformation. And most notably, we have watched the dreary TV-age politicians of yore be transformed into internet-savvy influencers of a sort — from Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Governor Gavin Newsom of California who has somehow become the political world’s latest “Zaddy”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kamala HQ (@kamalahq)

For all he appears to be floundering in 2024, Trump’s political aspirations were once marked by his ability to play the X (then Twitter) game with great success. Against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Trump, who had no previous political history, was regarded as a breath of fresh air. To that end, his team marketed him as a ‘no-holds-barred’ candidate who was not afraid to say what he thought. However, that same success has eluded him in 2024, and Trump has largely been unable to inspire a similarly gregarious response from Republican voters.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Biden has also struggled to appear relatable online, despite being the subject of many fan edits featuring Ray-Ban sunglasses and chocolate chip ice cream. However, the same does not apply to Harris, who waltzed into social media with all the audacity of a fully formed Brat. And even better — Harris would go on to appoint Minnesota governor Tim Walz, a famously relatable family man and former Football coach, as her running mate for the 2024 Elections. Walz has since become America’s Dad, with his showing at the DNC inspiring tears that would make an onion proud.

Unlike many of her political contemporaries from both sides of the fence, Harris has safely navigated the pitfalls of appearing ‘cringe’ and ‘weird’ on social media. While many Republicans (and some Democrats) make a concerted effort to perform outreach on social media, the consensus amongst the younger demographic is that they are often out of touch with how the world truly is. Harris, however, has cemented her place amongst Gen-Z and Millennials as ‘Mamala’, the cool mother figure with an infectious laugh and an incredible recipe for masala dosa.

So how did she do it?

How social media has impacted the Democratic ticket

Kamala Harris laughs from the belly, and it shows. In a world that has grown increasingly wary of picture-perfect politicians, Harris’ willingness to show her imperfections has largely worked in her favour, endearing her to the internet. Her induction into Charli XCX’s viral Brat trend has only fuelled her image as a living, breathing candidate, one who has lived the rags-to-riches experience — notably, Harris comes from an immigrant working class family, reflecting the struggles of many American voters. And considering her rising popularity in the social media sphere, it’s evident to see that her heritage is working in her favour, giving her polling numbers the push they need.

Across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube shorts, memes about Harris, her viral ‘coconut tree’ moment, infectious laugh, and endearing ‘auntie’ behaviour have boosted her political aspirations. And voters, younger, older, and meme-adjacent alike have lapped it up, cementing Harris’ place in the pop culture history of the 21st century. Through a seemingly endless carousel of fan edits and posts, the Democratic party have successfully done the impossible in humanising a politician, showcasing Harris in her best moments whilst doing what she does best: Speaking to and for the American people.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kamala HQ (@kamalahq)

Riding the wave of Kamala fever, the Democrats have leaned fully into the memes, trends, and edits. While Harris maintains a more formal presence on her official account, her campaign account Kamala HQ takes a more Gen-Z oriented approach, leveraging viral sounds, trends, and the spiciness that younger voters have become known for doling out. And it appears to be working.

While the success of the Harris-Walz campaign cannot be fully credited to its use of social media, it cannot be denied that social media has played a role in the duo’s rising popularity. A new poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos showed Harris leading Trump, with the former garnering 45 percent to Trump’s 41 percent — a significant increase from a late July poll that showed Harris leading by only 1 percent. The new poll also showed Harris leading by 13 points among women and Hispanic voters, while Trump garnered greater success among white voters and men. However, the proof of the Dems’ social media success is in the pudding, with 73 percent of Democratic voters saying they have become more excited now that Harris has entered the race.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Democrats (@thedemocrats)

Critics have thusly chimed in with their hot takes, insisting that the Democrats cannot win an election with ‘vibes’ and ‘identity politics’ alone. And while that is true, the Democrats have notably covered their bases beyond relying on the power of social media to turn the tides in their favour. Having plotted their path to the White House, the Harris-Walz ticket are employing a many-pronged approach to marketing, successfully capturing audiences and demographics of all ages and lifestyles.

For older and more established voters, there’s traditional above-the-line content — television ad spots detailing policies and accomplishments, rallies, and interviews on news networks. And for the younger generation, there’s social media — but with unapologetic sass that feels raw, honest, and incredibly refreshing.

Social media vs traditional news media: A changing landscape

In recent years, the power to influence has greatly shifted from newspapers and television to digital platforms. While longform content has its home in YouTube, the advent of short form content across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts has shaken up the game of political outreach. To win over a Gen-Z and Millennial audience, a politician must now be savvy both online and off, providing information in short, easily digestible snippets that can impact the viewers’ perception of them.

Beyond length and format, many other differences separate traditional and digital media. Newspapers and television communicate information in a one-directional format, leaving the door open for misinformation and false reporting when integrity fails. The same cannot be said for digital reporting, where one can check the comments for real time information from laypeople. And while misinformation still makes its way into online discourse, the comments section allows laypeople to keep news media outlets accountable, facilitating more honest reporting at the risk of being publicly called out. To that end, X has also added a community notes feature, which allows members of the community to provide context or corrections to tweets that may be misleading or downright false.

How democrats are using social media influencers to gain ground in the 2024 election

The best way to reach a young person is to have a peer of similar age speak to them, and the Democrats have leveraged this strategy to grand effect — in short, they understood the assignment. This has culminated in the eye-catching and highly posted 2024 Democratic National Convention, where over 200 social media iNFLuencers and content creators were in attendance to cover the election from the perspective of the Democrats. For the first time ever, digital content creators not from traditional media were granted media passes, thus allowing them to get up close and personal with the Democratic party’s figureheads.

While traditional media has a duty to remain impartial, digital content creators and influencers are beholden to no such creed. What emerged was a boom of content for the Democrats across the four day convention, leading to an incredible outpouring of support from across the world. Amidst the explosion of fun and engaging content, viewers from home saw American governors receiving friendship bracelets as per the Eras tour tradition, clips of the best Trump burns, and heartfelt speeches bringing viewers back to the core of what it means to be American. Through their social media outreach and their engagement of influencers, Democrats inspired the world to tune back in to American politics. And, beyond that, they inspired a new generation of voters, in whose hands now rest the power to shape the nation for the future.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kamala HQ (@kamalahq)

Beyond social media influencers, the Democrats also appear to be winning the war for celebrity endorsements in the 2024 Presidential election. To date, an ever-growing throng of Hollywood’s finest stars have thrown in their lot to endorse the Harris-Walz ticket. These range from the biggest stars like Oprah, Mark Hamill, Mark Ruffalo, Jamie Lee Curtis, and George Clooney to musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, The Chicks, Cardi B, Lance Bass, Megan Thee Stallion, Pink, and more. And while Beyonce has not officially endorsed any candidate, she did give the Harris campaign permission to use her Lemonade hit Freedom — and in the same breath issued the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist letter for their use of the same song.

Another Celebrity that has yet to officially endorse the Harris-Walz ticket is Taylor Swift. Notably, many of Swift’s fans are left leaning, even banding together to form the Swifties for Harris group. To date, the group has raised USD 144,000 for the Harris-Walz campaign.

(Main image: The Democrats, Kamala Harris/Facebook; featured image: Kamala Harris/Facebook)