Gen Z is mobilizing for Harris in ways we wouldn't for Biden. The momentum is palpable.

Before this month, I was certain that Gen Z and young millennial participation would drop this election cycle.

Although our age group played a huge role in electing President Joe Biden , there was a huge enthusiasm issue with his reelection campaign. Since Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the presumptive Democratic nominee, there has been an energy shift. I've seen it among both the political class and the young voters who helped deliver Biden the presidency.

I have never seen anything like the momentum around the Harris campaign. This energy was not there for Biden in 2020 or for Hillary Clinton in 2016. If it lasts, it could propel Harris to the presidency.

For that to happen, she needs to listen to the young people supporting her – and it seems like she realizes that. Last week, 17 youth organizations endorsed Harris to be the next president of the United States.

One of the organizations, Voters of Tomorrow , held a summit this past weekend in Atlanta. Harris spoke to the crowd in a prerecorded message.

“In this election, we know young voters will be key, and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted,” Harris said . “It must be earned, and that is exactly what we will do.”

It’s not just that she needs to have Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012 , on her side – she needs their enthusiasm to reach voters of all ages.

Polls show Kamala Harris dominating among Gen Z voters

Surveys taken after the president dropped his reelection campaign on July 21 and endorsed his vice president are proving what I’ve seen in my personal life:

• Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by nearly 20 points among registered voters under 30, according to The New York Times/Siena College poll .
• An Axios/Generati on Lab poll of voters under 35 showed the same margin of victory.
• Although her lead narrows in a CNN poll from the same age group, she still defeats Trump 47%-43%.

It’s not just the polls saying Harris is encouraging voters. Vote.org , a nonpartisan registration platform, saw more than 38,500 people register to vote in the two days after Harris announced she'd run. By last Friday, they had surpassed 100,000 new registrants. Most of these voters are under 35.

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All of that is good news for the Harris campaign. Her next step should be getting young voters to the polls in the same numbers the Biden campaign saw in 2020, when 1 in 6 votes were cast by Americans under 30 , and Biden won the demographic by more than 20 percentage points.

Democrats still have to work at reaching Gen Z

So what should Harris do to keep this energy up? David Hogg, a gun violence prevention activist and the founder of Leaders We Deserve , said it’s time for the Democratic Party to start incorporating young people into the campaign.

“In the last election, young people were very motivated to vote in general, but a lot of it was negative polarization,” Hogg told me. “It was just because they hated Donald Trump. This time, it’s positive polarization, where they’re actively excited about Kamala.”

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Personally, I want to see the Harris campaign use the age advantage to uplift more young voices within the Democratic Party. It's not enough for voters to see that Harris is younger and more energetic than Trump. That needs to be clear through the voting base.

It would be great to see her national campaign highlight people like Rep. Maxwell Frost , D-Fla., the first Gen Z person elected to Congress, or Anderson Clayton , a Gen Z woman leading the North Carolina Democrats.

These are the people proving that Gen Z and young millennials aren't waiting in the wings for our time; people my age are already here, winning elections and organizing for change.

Democrats need to find the issues that motivate Gen Z

Of course, not all young people will respond to a Harris campaign that runs on progressive issues only.

Josh Lafazan, a Democrat from Nassau County who was, at one point, one of the youngest elected officials in New York , told me that the party needs to change its messaging when trying to appeal to young voters in a place like Long Island.

Still, he notes that Democrats can make winning arguments by focusing on issues like climate change, gun violence, college affordability and the cost of housing.

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“Which party is going to be able to speak to young people about helping put them in a home and helping them achieve the version of the American dream through home ownership that our parents and grandparents took for granted?” Lafazan asked.

This is another place where young Democrats can be used to test messaging that resonates with voters their age. After all, the best people to talk to Gen Z about the issues are other members of Gen Z.

We need to hear from Kamala Harris on other issues

There are still issues that Gen Z needs to hear more about from Harris ‒ namely, the Israel-Hamas war and her plan to end fighting in the region.

In March, she called for an immediate cease-fire in the region. This month, speaking to reporters after what she called a “frank” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Harris called for the end of Palestinian suffering while also calling for the release of Israeli hostages.

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If she continues honing her message and advocating for the Palestinian people, it could improve her standing with Gen Z even more.

Harris has time to address that, but she should lean into the young people around her when shaping her message on Palestine.

Gen Z support wins elections. Harris knows this.

While people my age were uncertain about voting for Biden this year, they seemed excited by the Harris campaign. If we’re excited, imagine how much we could energize older members of the electorate.

If Harris truly does not take young voters for granted, she could do us one better and put people our age in the spotlight when it comes to topics that will energize what has become a part of the Democratic Party's base. It's time for Gen Z to make its political presence even more known than in previous elections.

If the Harris campaign is savvy enough to tie her to "BRAT," imagine what will happen when they put Gen Z voters and their issues at the forefront.

Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gen Z is mobilizing for Harris in ways we wouldn't for Biden. The momentum is palpable.