Enthusiasm for Kamala Harris among key sets of voters – especially young people, women, black people and independents – has been boosted by the spirited activism of new grassroots groups, often using huge Zoom calls.
The varied mix of groups rallying for Kamala Harris’s campaign are doing so with fervour not witnessed for Democrats since Barack Obama’s 2008 run for the White House. They also appear not to be part of the official campaign. Philip de Vellis, an expert on political campaigning and communication, said: “It’s been a while that we’ve had someone to top the ticket who’s got the pulse of younger voters and is very involved and conversant in popular culture.”
Politico reporter Irie Sentner noted that, “Harris is attempting to rebuild the broad Democratic coalition and has made inroads with nearly every demographic compared to Biden before he dropped out.”
On the July evening Joe Biden exited the race for president, a Win With Black Women Zoom call attracted 44,000 participants. A subsequent White Women for Harris Zoom call drew 164,000 participants. And at the end of July a virtual rally hosted by Win With Black Men saw 53,000 people log on and raise US$1.5 million (£1.1 million).
While not officially connected to either Taylor Swift or the campaign, the Swifties for Kamala group is seeking to mobilise Swift’s fanbase to vote for the vice-president in November’s election. At the end of August, 34,000 Swifties joined an online rally that featured Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and singer Carole King. The webinar has so far raised US$144,000.
Swift backed Biden in 2020, but is yet to officially support either candidate in the 2024 contest. The megastar’s endorsement is a highly sought-after prize, with Donald Trump resorting to posting crude deepfake images on his Truth Social platform claiming he had secured Swift’s backing. Even without the singer’s official endorsement, the Swifties seem happy to come out for Harris.
Another collective with an emblematic name and significant energy, White Dudes for Harris, is seeking to mobilise a different Democratic demographic. The group received celebrity backing when actor Jeff Bridges, famous for playing The Dude in the film The Big Lebowski, joined a Zoom call, which attracted more than 180,000 people, with donations totalling close to US$4 million.
Other big names that offered their support to the event included actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin and Mark Hamill, who secured a US$50,000 donation after delivering his famous Star Wars line: “I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.”
Analysis by the Pew Research Centre showed that in 2016 and 2020, Trump won the majority of the white men’s support with 62% and 57% respectively. Democrats are hoping that innovative and online driven grassroots campaigning can make an impact with this key voting demographic. Chairman of the Harris campaign, Mitch Landrieu, said that “if white guys would just show up … if we would talk about what it really means to be a great partner, and a man … all of us are going to be better for it”.
Republican support
Another potential, and unusual, support group for the Democratic ticket is made up of people who have devoted most of their political life to the Republican party. A list of more than 200 individuals, including former staffers for two Bush presidents and former Republican presidential nominees and senators John McCain and Mitt Romney, have published an open letter denouncing Donald Trump and asking their fellow Republicans to vote for Harris.
Also included are former congressman Adam Kinzinger, former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan, former homeland security adviser to vice-president Mike Pence, Olivia Troye, and former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. All have condemned Trump’s lack of moral character and warned of the dangers should he regain the presidency.
The letter reads: “At home another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership … will… weaken our sacred institutions… Abroad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardised.”
Encouraging former Republican voters to switch sides in November’s election is an important part of the Harris campaign strategy. This was witnessed at the Democratic convention in Chicago last month, where several prominent Republican speakers took to the stage to warn of the dangers of a second Trump presidency.
The growing number of grassroots groups has helped raise both money and interest in Kamala Harris. Moreover, they have provided her with something arguably more valuable going into the final nine weeks of campaigning: momentum. This has translated into a huge fundraising haul, with the Harris campaign reporting at the end of August it had raised US$540 million.
The unusual explosion of grassroots action, mostly operating outside the Democratic party machine, appears to have added energy to the campaign, and sparked interest and financial commitment from groups of voters who previously could have stayed at home on election day.
Richard Hargy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
