Newly minted enthusiasm among young voters across the country could be the deciding factor in the 2024 presidential election.
With a third of eligible voters between 18 and 29 reporting TikTok as a major source of news, , political content created on the platform is proving to be a significant driving force in the upcoming presidential election.
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Young voters have historically been a sought-after demographic for presidential political campaigns. Just fifty-five percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 showed up to the polls in 2020, according to , leaving a large swath of votes on the table.
Yet some experts estimate this could be the year for young voters to break that trend, if viral social media content is any indication.
“In 2020, young voters turned out at historic levels to propel Democrats to victory, and this year will be no different,” NextGen America President Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez said in a recent press release.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee on the Democratic presidential ticket, a makeshift army of young voters has taken over TikTok, creating unofficial campaign content for both candidates in the 2024 presidential race.
Online warriors for Harris went to work almost immediately after Biden stepped down, creating viral content capitalizing on Harris’ now-famous “coconut tree” speech, the “brat” title given to her by popular pop star, Charli XCX — and the term, "femininomenon," a play on female phenomenon.
“At no other point in the last two months, even with the other unprecedented political events, did we see such a drastic and sustained overnight shift in share of voice and sentiment,” Ben Darr, founder of CredIQ, a company that uses social media analytics to advise political strategy, said in a statement to Forum News Service.
The Democrats continued to ride that wave as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was named her running mate — and dubbed by young TikTok users as America's endearing dad.
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Despite the surge in democratic enthusiasm, former President Donald Trump still enjoys the largest — 10 million compared to Harris’ 4.4 million.
Yet when it comes to engagement and politically-motivated organic content being created by TikTok users, the Democrats are in the lead.
Democrats are also attracting TikTok users who have historically stayed away from politically-motivated content, highlighting a new group of young voters who are, for the first time, showing political enthusiasm.
“A significant percentage of this shift is the result of a young, politically unengaged cohort of TikTok creators suddenly feeling excited to engage with the presidential election,” Darr said. “It is tough to find comparable, concentrated enthusiasm among young conservative TikTok users.”
If the Harris and Walz campaign is able to create a path from online enthusiasm to the polls, the political power of the younger demographic could surprise the nation — in the swing states and beyond.
The rise of a new voting group?
The activity among young people on the country's most popular social media platform is critical for both campaigns as new voters come onto the scene.
Among the nation’s 41 million young voters eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, roughly 8 million will age into the voting pool — and TikTok is their social media platform of choice.
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In the midst of the online excitement, voter registration among those 35 and under skyrocketed. After Biden endorsed Harris, Vote.org reported a roughly 700 percent increase in voter registration among young voters.
Historically, young voters have favored Democratic candidates. Roughly 66 percent of voters ranging in age from 18 to 24 have traditionally aligned with Democratic candidates, with 34 percent identifying with Republicans, .
In 2020, young voters favored Biden in the nation’s critical swing states: Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan.
A conducted after Harris was named the presumptive nominee — and before Gov. Walz was added to the ticket — had Harris with a nine percent advantage over Trump among young voters.
Aside from grassroots content created by young voters, polls also indicate Harris and Walz could be speaking the language of the majority of young voters on issues like reproductive freedom.
Walz's record of protecting reproductive freedom in Minnesota — paired with Harris' campaign cry to protect reproductive freedom across the country — doesn't just speak to the base of young voters. It also speaks to independents.
Sixty-eight percent of young independents recently indicated they sided with the Democrats on the issue of abortion.
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Republican excitement
When it comes to the world of TikTok, Trump supporters are holding their own — and Trump has gained more followers than his opponent in the month and a half since launching his account.
In the first 24 hours after his campaign launched its official TikTok account on July 1, with a UFC video featuring the former president, he gained more than 2 million followers. More than a month later, his account is sitting at roughly 10 million followers.
Harris’ team created her TikTok account on July 25, four days after she was considered the presumptive nominee — and in the height of “coconut tree” and “brat” era.
Roughly three weeks later, Harris sits at 4.4 million followers. The KamalaHQ account, the official campaign account previously dubbed the BidenHQ, sits at 3.6 million followers.
The upcoming Democratic National Convention in Chicago is scheduled to livestream on TikTok, giving the party an opportunity to capitalize on the momentum gained from Harris earning the Democratic nomination and Walz being named to the ticket.
After that, both parties will have the next few months to gain the support and enthusiasm of young voters who could tip the scale of victory at the ballot box.
The Trust Project
