How internet culture is engaging a new generation of voters

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — A wave of energy is going through the voter world as the younger generation is becoming more interested in casting a ballot.

Kamala Harris’ campaign has gained momentum as they try to appeal to young voters.

2 NEWS spoke with a political expert and local voters about the shift for Generation Z voters, who agree this is an election cycle never seen before. Both young Democrats and young Republicans are becoming more involved in politics — primarily due to how the parties are spreading their messages.

According to recent polls, voters ages 18-29 are showing more interest in the presidential election, despite the group historically never having a strong voter turnout.

“This particular cycle has seen a greater interest than others in the past,” said Dr. Marc Clauson, professor of history and law at Cedarville University.

As the race for the White House heats up, experts say we’re seeing a scenario that we haven’t before, and that could translate to the polls. With a variety of issues dividing the political parties and dividing the older generation from the younger.

“You’ve got a greater attraction of younger voters to the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. Now there is also a growing excitement among younger voters for Republicans, but it still lags behind the Democratic excitement,” said Clauson.

Experts say younger voters tend to appeal to more trends and are attracted to the candidates that are more energetic. And younger voters agree.

“I think that with this specific campaign with Kamala Harris, she has really tried to engage the younger voter base,” said Kayla Holsinger, local voter. “She has used Charli XCX’s new album, ‘brat,’ and we’ve seen a lot of politicians kind of talking about like, what is brat? What does that mean?’ She’s used a lot of like memes and things to promote herself and actually treat young voters as a serious demographic.”

And when it comes to this election cycle, experts and voters say the younger generation is becoming a pivotal block in voting.

“I’m big on like voter registration, getting kids, getting younger people involved,” said Holsinger. “It’s so important because you want your voice to be heard. You don’t just want to give that up to the older generation. You want your voice to be represented.”

“It’s easy to say that because Kamala Harris is brand new and untested that Trump has an easy path to victory. But I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s going to be the case. I think it’s going to be a close race,” said Clauson.

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