In a world dominated by digital media, first-time voters are bombarded with political ads tailored to their age group and interests. Luisa Tripoli-Krasnow, a sophomore at USC from New York City, stumbled upon an ad for President Joe Biden while scrolling on YouTube one evening.
The ad, strategically crafted to resonate with Tripoli-Krasnow’s generation, addressed issues of climate change, student debt and education along with upbeat music and a powerful narration by Biden. It was at this moment that Tripoli-Krasnow had become a target — not just of a political campaign, but of a meticulously crafted strategy to engage and mobilize first-time voters just like her.
Ahead of the 2024 election, both the Biden and Donald Trump presidential campaigns are working to attract first-time voters. Characterized by fresh perspectives and a willingness to challenge the status quo, these voters have the ability to sway election results in key battleground states. As the outreach to young people intensifies, these strategies signal a shift in campaign tactics and underscore the importance of engaging with America’s newest voters.
Recent polling data and interviews with young voters suggest that there is a noticeable lack of enthusiasm for Biden and his administration. In November, an NBC News national poll showed that Biden was trailing Trump by 4-points among voters ages 18-34. This is a sharp drop from the double-digit margins that Biden earned to defeat Trump in the 2020 election.
Some young voters feel disconnected from the Biden administration’s messaging, despite their active presence on social media platforms such as Instagram and X. While the campaign strategies have aimed to reach young audiences through engaging content and targeted advertisements, the challenge remains in creating genuine connections and tangible enthusiasm through online posts.
“I think that it is interesting because he [Biden] is trying to reach out to first-time voters on social media, but I think he just ends up getting laughed at,” said Tripoli-Krasnow. “As president, he could be better spending his time doing something else.”
Alex Evans, a freshman from the Bay Area, remembers some memorable social media posts from Democratic presidential candidates both recently and in 2016. “I’ve seen a lot of second-hand callouts, like I remember the Biden post on Twitter with the crazy eyes and I remember Hillary Clinton’s ‘Pokémon Go to the polls’ reference,” she said.
Immediately after the Super Bowl on February 11, Biden’s social media team posted a photo of the president with red laser beams coming out of his eyes, a reference to the “Dark Brandon” meme the campaign has been pushing. The intention behind the post seemed to be light-hearted and was aimed at trying to connect the president with younger audiences through relatable content. However, the post sparked controversy and debate, with some questioning its appropriateness or relevance in the context of the presidency.
“I feel like to an extent it was done in a way that it wasn’t clear that it was a joke,” said Evans.
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) estimated that 50% of young people ages 18-29 voted in the 2020 presidential election. This is an 11% increase from the 39% who showed up in the 2016 election. This reflects a growing participation and engagement among young voters, which helps to increase their influence in shaping election outcomes.
The Biden campaign not only maintains a robust social media presence with 17.2 million followers on Biden’s personal Instagram account and 19.2 million followers on the POTUS account, but they also actively engage with college students through a combination of virtual and in-person campus events and organizing efforts.
“I’ve seen that Biden has gone to a lot of college campuses to reach out to first-time voters to encourage them to vote. I haven’t necessarily noticed any of Trump’s efforts, but also I don’t pay much attention to him,” said Tripoli-Krasnow.
While both campaign strategies are aimed at reaching young people, Trump’s messaging often resonates more strongly with conservative-leaning youth. His campaign also places significant emphasis on large-scale rallies and events, which generate media attention and often feature high-profile speakers. Similar to the Biden campaign, the Trump campaign maintains an active presence on social media, but a nearly two-year ban from X and subsequent use of his own platform Truth Social, means some young voters have found it harder to engage with his campaign.
“I think that social media has been very impactful and specifically the Trump campaign’s usage of Twitter. When he was president there was a new Trump tweet in the news every few days and that was how a lot of people were finding out what he was doing,” said Tripoli-Krasnow. “When he got banned from Twitter, I started to see more of the negative sides of this because his usage of Twitter makes you see him more as a comedian as opposed to a president,” she said.
Small, intimate gatherings and meet-and-greets are another valuable way for undecided voters to learn more about the candidates. These events offer attendees a chance to interact directly with the candidates in a more personal setting and allow for voters to ask questions and exchange ideas.
Chase Oetker, a first-time voter and student at Lewis University in Illinois, went to a Ron DeSantis meet-and-greet at Jethro’s BBQ in Ankeny, Iowa before DeSantis had a disappointing showing in the state’s caucuses and ended his campaign. Oetker is a registered Democrat, but wanted to gain a better understanding of who DeSantis is as well as the other candidates running, aside from Trump.
“I have a growth mindset and I want to view both sides and both political parties, so I’m just looking for what values I hold to myself,” said Oetker.
Young voters are the most active users on social media, making it a critical platform for engaging with this crucial demographic. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns recognize this, but more needs to be done in order to mobilize support.
“I think in order for campaigns to engage with the younger audiences they are going to have to adapt what their message is willing to give us as a generation,” said Kamber Puebla, a freshman at USC from Gunnar, Texas. “They are going to have to be more involved with technology and be able to get in touch with us via our social media platforms.”
Polls specific to first-time voters are important for understanding the preferences, attitudes and behaviors of this demographic. The Harvard Youth Poll, which is part of the Harvard Public Opinion Project, is one such effort aimed at capturing the views of young voters. The initiative puts out a national youth poll of 18 to 29-year-olds each semester from a sample size of about 2,000.
As the chair of the project, Anil Cacodcar, a Harvard sophomore, helps to create the questions, analyze the data and brief a variety of government officials. “We really take into account the lived experience of young Americans and try to think about what young people are thinking about,” he said.
The project doesn’t necessarily engage with new voters, but they survey young Americans and ask them if they are registered to vote. Cacodcar detailed how they simply “serve as a youth resource and don’t lobby the youth.”
The most recent poll released on April 18 found that young Americans see the difference political engagement can make. Of the 2,010 young voters surveyed, the majority believe it matters who the president is. The data shows that 57% of likely voters strongly disagreed with the statement “it really doesn’t matter to me who the President is.” In this poll, Biden led among 18-24 year-olds by 14 points, and among 25-29 year-olds by 26 points.
It is also imperative for the presidential campaigns to foster trust within their voter bases regarding the significance of participation. “I think the main issue right now is whether or not people have faith in the democratic process. The burden will be on both parties to show their bases that there is value in showing up to vote,” said a 2023 USC grad who is working as a digital campaign strategist in D.C. The person requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of their work and to avoid potential professional repercussions from speaking candidly.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2022 found that half of 18-29-year-olds in the U.S. have some or a lot of trust in the information they get from social media and around 56% of those surveyed have nearly the same level of trust in information from national news organizations.
“Social media is definitely the frontier of youth vote, but more traditional modification methods might be more effective for reaching many first-time voters,” said the campaign strategist. “Look at Georgia as a case study, we should invest in going to voters and meeting them where they are.”
The Biden team telegraphed its plans in a May 8 press release, claiming use of “new, innovative tactics of campaigning – TikToks, kitchen table conversations, and digital content – to better reach voters everywhere they are.” It also detailed how they strategically used their campaign investments to target a younger audience by focusing on non-political programming and large-scale television events, such as March Madness.
This aligns with the shifting preferences of younger demographics, who are turning away from traditional network television. With the rise of streaming services and digital content platforms, many young people are starting to prefer on-demand options with limited or no commercial interruptions.
“I don’t watch a lot of network TV that would have commercials,” said Tripoli-Krasnow. “But, I think that going out to colleges and actually speaking to young people is important because a lot of people feel as though their voices don’t matter, especially in a blue state like California.”