EXETER — Seacoast natives Aliyana Koch-Manzur and Alex Wahl are headed to the Democratic National Convention as two of the youngest members of New Hampshire’s delegation.
The DNC kicks off Monday, Aug. 19, and runs through Thursday, Aug. 22. It will take place in Chicago. There, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are set to appear and formally accept the Democratic nomination for president.
New Hampshire is sending 39 people to the convention, including 11 “youth” delegates, or people under 35. Koch-Manzur and Wahl were elected as two of 16 district delegates in caucus-style meetings in January.
Youth representation at the DNC important, say delegates
To get elected as a delegate, one has to be over the age of 18. Koch-Manzur, who graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in the spring, turned 18 six days before the district delegate election.
“It was like perfect timing,” she said. As the co-head of the Democratic Club at Phillips Exeter, she wanted to see if she could become a delegate. She said the NHDP wanted to get more young people involved and encouraged her to run.
Young people in America could play an important role in the election. Disgruntled about the war in Gaza and the rising cost of living, they were largely unenthused about the election, and polling suggested they were unwilling to come out for President Joe Biden. But since Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris has become the presumptive nominee, the tide seems to have turned . Viral memes about Harris’s “coconut tree” line, Brat summer, and comparing her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to singer Chapelle Roan have seemed to help inspire youth voters to get back involved.
“I’ve never seen a political campaign be able to use young trends in a way that doesn’t feel cringy,” Koch-Manzur said. She said she is “desperate” to get her hands on the Harris-Walz camo hats that look similar to singer Chappell Roan’s "Midwest Princess" merchandise.
An Emerson College poll released Thursday showed that likely voters under 30 shifted towards Harris by nine points: 56% supported Biden, now 65% support Harris. And an ActiVote poll taken between Aug. 7 and Aug. 14 found Harris leading former President Donald Trump among voters aged 18-29 by 12 points.
“I hadn’t talked to anyone my age who was truly excited to vote in New Hampshire in November before Harris became the candidate, and now I’m talking to friends who are yes, Democrats, but very far sides of the Democratic Party— one is like extremely center moderate, and the other is progressive Democrat— but when I talk to both of them, they’re both equally excited about this campaign,” she said. “There’s absolutely been such a vibe shift in the past month.”
Wahl, an alum of Exeter High School and a rising junior at Tufts, has been involved in political organizing since knocking on doors in middle school. He also felt there was a surge of energy around Harris’s nomination in his generation, Gen Z.
Wahl said it’s important for young delegates to be a part of the convention because issues like jobs, inflation, healthcare, and education costs are “really magnified for young generations of people.”
“We’re the folks that are going to be entering the workforce or are going to be graduating or are going to be looking for housing,” he said. “There really is a whole host of issues that uniquely affects young people.”
Koch-Manzur added that young people can often feel alienated from politics, which is often dominated by older people. She said having youth representation at the DNC will show other people her age that their voices are being heard.
Wahl and Koch-Manzur excited for the DNC
Wahl and Koch-Manzur have participated in all of the delegate duties: Koch-Manzur joined the call to endorse Harris after Biden dropped out from a road trip with her family, and they both nominated Harris in a virtual roll call vote in the beginning of August to meet early state ballot deadlines .
With the Democratic National Convention finally upon them, they are excited to participate in all the aspects of the convention, from state-hosted breakfasts to the state roll call on the floor to meeting "political celebrities" and Democrats from across the country.
As the daughter of a South Asian mother and a German father, Koch-Manzur is also excited to see Harris as the official nominee on a personal level.
“I am a woman of mixed race, and so, of course, Kamala Harris is absolutely qualified to be president through an extremely impressive record, and that has nothing to do with her race or her gender," Koch-Manzur said. Harris is Black and South Asian . "But little Aliyana from 10 years ago, I don’t think could have even imagined that in just a couple presidential cycles, there would be someone like her running for president.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Young Democratic delegates from Seacoast ride wave of excitement to national convention
Most Popular
Comments / 0