Students were dancing in the aisles and their seats in the Hampton University auditorium long before Vice PresidentĀ Kamala HarrisĀ took the stage for the first stop of her fall college tour.
Jaden Clemons and Layth Carpenter, both 18-year-old freshmen, said they viewed Harris as āauthenticā and ārelatableā as the alum of Howard University, another historically Black school.
But neither was ready to commit to supporting Harris andĀ Joe BidenĀ next year, the first time they will be eligible to vote in a presidential election. And when it comes to lining up behind Democrats or Republicans, Clemons said, āWe donāt even feel like itās something that we need to choose.ā
Getting students like these two off the sidelines is one of the top challenges for the White House as BidenĀ seeks a second termĀ as the oldest president in American history, and itās one that Harris will confront as she crisscrosses between campuses in the coming weeks. Although young people lean left, theyāre less likely to vote, and preventing them from tuning out is crucial in close campaigns that hinge on narrow margins.
And Biden isnāt the only candidate trying to line up support among young voters. Former PresidentĀ Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in his comeback bid for the White House,Ā visited Iowa State UniversityĀ last weekend.
āI guess the youth likes Trump,ā he said.
John Brabender, a media consultant for the Trump campaign, said the former president tries to show up at events that lead to video on social media ā for example, Trumpās appearance at a mixed martial arts fight in Las Vegas in July.
Since YouTube and TikTok are crucial platforms for young people, he said, āOur goal is to make sure content is created in an interesting enough way that it does get shared.
Drawing the attention of young people can be difficult, but TrumpāsĀ celebrity remains powerful. One of the few things that Isaac Gavin, a 21-year-old senior at Drake University in Des Moines, knows about the Republican primary is that Trump is a candidate again.
āI donāt even know all who is running. It seems like so many,ā he said. āItās confusing.ā
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who announced his retirement this week, told reporters at the U.S. Capitol that he doubted Trump could make inroads with a new generation.
āMy party is only going to be successful getting young people to vote for us if weāre talking about the future,ā he said. āAnd thatās not happening so far.ā
Biden won 61% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 in 2020, according to AP VoteCast, making young voters a critical part of his coalition. However, his approval ratings within that age group now stand at 29% compared to 40% overall, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
At Hampton, Harris said there was too much at stake ā abortion, voting rights, gun control ā for students to miss their shot to shape the countryās future.
āWhat concerns me sometimes is that our young leaders will be told that their vote doesnāt matter,ā she told the audience. āItās because you voted,ā Harris added, āthat Joe Biden is president and Iām vice president of the United States.ā
Harrisā college tour ā with another stop Friday at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. ā is one part of a broader strategy.
The White House has worked with online influencers to reach people who donāt rely on traditional media. The Democratic National Committee is also building a network of student volunteers to organize on college campuses, and they flew banners over football games to urge voter registration.
āAs Democrats did in 2020 and 2022, we will meet younger Americans where they are and turn their energy into action as part of our winning 2024 coalition,ā said Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesman.
Given the liberal bent of younger voters, Democratsā competition isnāt always Republicans but apathy or the lure of a third party. John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, said the White House will need to break through to people who tend to tune out when it comes to politics so theyāre aware of what Biden has accomplished since taking office.
āItās just an incredibly challenging environment to communicate that message,ā said Della Volpe, who worked on Bidenās campaign in 2020. āAnd unless those things are understood, cynicism grows.ā
Destiny Humphreys, a 22-year-old senior at South Carolina State University, said she fears that politicians always say theyāll ālisten to the peopleā only to backtrack once theyāre in a position of power.
āEverybody keeps saying the same thing just in different ways but ultimately, theyāre not listening to the people,ā she said.
On Thursday, Harris repeatedly tried to demonstrate that she understood young votersā concerns. She said they had taught her about āclimate anxietyā and their fears of a warming world.
At another point, she asked how many students had participated in active shooter drills in their schools, and a sea of hands went up. Older people, Harris said, ādonāt get it.ā
Harris acknowledged that the White House has faced roadblocks, such asĀ the U.S. Supreme Court decisionĀ that undermined its debt forgiveness plan. But she said she wouldnāt stop fighting for the administrationās agenda.
āI like to say, I eat ānoā for breakfast,ā she said. āI donāt hear āno.āā
Harris ended with a pitch for help.
āWith each generation, we must fight for our rights and our freedoms,ā she said. āAnd so, just stay active. Because I and your country are counting on you.ā
After the event, Carpenter said she felt that Harris sort of ādanced aroundā studentsā questions and blamed problems on Congress.
But Clemons might have been won over.
Biden and Harris are āstrong candidates, in my eyes,ā he said, āmainly because of what I saw today.ā
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Price reported from New York and Beaumont from Des Moines, Iowa. Reporting was contributed by Ayanna Alexander in Orangeburg, S.C., and Farnoush Amiri in Washington.
