With just a few weeks to go until the election, it appears that Democrats are still no closer to truly understanding why they lost so much ground to Donald Trump across so many demographics. It seems to me that to understand what happened and why it happened, we have to get it from places other than the trash can: political operatives within the party, cable news media elites, social media and pollsters. is clear.
Fortunately, after the election, I ended up teaching a class at American University in Media and Public Policy to 40-50 students. Despite all the talk about young voters and trying to understand what motivates them to turn up to the polls, how many pundits, commentators, and experts analyzing elections actually talk to people under 25 about elections? Have you ever talked about it?
There I was speaking to a room full of young people under the age of 25, people from Alabama and West Virginia, people from Germany and Pakistan. Many of them had voted in the election and were the most shocked and even upset by the results.
Interestingly, two young women from Pakistan who did not vote expressed little surprise at the result. They lived in New York in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and had a front row seat to bigotry in America, victims of intimidation, hatred, and targeting by law enforcement. They mocked those who had just woken up to the reality that voters were not persuaded by warnings of sexism, racism, and misogyny. For them and their families, those elements were embedded in their lived experience as Americans.
Many students who attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign rally were surprised that the very real and tangible energy they felt at the event did not translate into a final outcome. They felt like they were immersed in a bubble of left-handed joy, only to be dazzled by the realization that the bubble wasn’t as big as they thought.
As the conversation progressed, I was surprised that the Middle East never came up as a reason to support or oppose Harris. The impact of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on young, progressive college voters had been a hot topic before the election, but it was not a topic at all in this sample.
What emerged was a feeling that Harris’ pivot to the middle was inauthentic. For example, her talk about gun ownership felt like a blatant effort to appeal to the center-right, and they didn’t buy it.
Those most affected by Harris’ loss were young women. Many of them could not understand how so many people in this country could knowingly vote for a man and a party that sought to take away their rights and control their bodies. I would ask them if they regularly talk to men in their daily lives about their bodies, menstrual cycles, and what it’s like to experience life as a woman. I asked them to list it. I asked them how many times a man in their life, a father or a partner, actively brought up the topic. No one raised their hand. With that in mind, I asked, why do you think any of them would vote one way or the other based on what’s going on with your body?
Another recurring criticism of Harris has been her inability or refusal to meaningfully distinguish what she would do differently than President Biden. To be honest, I was surprised to hear this point mentioned so many times. They felt that the whole premise of Ms. Harris’ campaign was a fresh start, a new generation of leadership, turning the page from old to new, and yet she offered no contrast to Biden at all. So he was sending the following signal to his children. It will be business as usual. They found it incredibly boring.
As I spent the last few hours with them, it was clear that they felt misunderstood by the political system. Although overwhelmingly pro-Harris, their disdain for Democrats was clear. This generation doesn’t want to be told what to do or think. They don’t want to be told what will happen if their opponent wins. They don’t want to be preached to or lectured to. What they really want is to be inspired. They want something different than what they’ve seen from Washington over the past eight years. They want to engage regularly and seriously, not just when the political calendar dictates, like some target audience determined by political consultants.
Every election cycle, everyone asks how we can better motivate, engage, and activate America’s youth. After talking to these students, I think the answer is simple. It’s about engaging them like adults. Talk to them, not at them. Be authentic. Make it relevant and personal. Meet them where they are, not where you want them to be.
Kurt Bardella is an Opinion contributor and NewsNation politics contributor. X/Blue Sky: @KurtBardella; Instagram/Threads/Substack: @KurtTakes
