What do Gen Zers think of Kamala Harris?

From Swifties to Brat Summer and the latest polling

Welcome to the latest edition of The Gen Zer. This week, we discuss Gen Z’s views on the upcoming US election. We also take a look at ‘underconsumption core’, Gen Z’s dislike for overhyped sightseeing, and more . . .

No generation is a monolith, and within any age bracket there will be a full spread of views, but as always there are trends and transformational forces that seem uniquely Gen Z.

Generation Z make up 33% of the global population, 40% of consumers and – due to their massive online presence – hold a great deal of influence. With the US election looming larger and larger online and in the media, one big question remains: what do Gen Z make of it all?

Brat Summer

Older generations might shrug at all the mostly-online excitement and furore, but, after all, the internet is where Gen Zers spend so much of their time. You’re more likely to meaningfully reach them on TikTok than on the street – and if you want them to vote, then you do need to reach them.

Go back one-hundred years and try to explain how Charlie XCX releasing a chart-topping hyperpop album, branding it an ugly shade of lurid green, and then tweeting ‘Kamala IS brat’ could have such a global reaction.

The past few elections have seen a greater and greater focus on social media, but 2024’s election feels like it’s taking a next step along that path, influenced, in part, by a whole new cohort of Gen Zers able and willing to vote.

Zooming to new heights

Last week, after Harris announced that she was running for nomination, virtual rallies quickly raised over $10 million. What’s surprising about this is not so much the support, but more where that support is now being found: increasingly, online.

On the same evening that Biden bowed out of the race, a Zoom call with over 90,000 people raised $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign – and throughout the following week there were more and more online calls, one of which (with around 200,000 participants) was reportedly the largest Zoom call in the company’s history.

Gen Zers often get described as ‘digital natives’. We grew up online, and whereas in-person rallies might be off-putting for a number of reasons (not least the cost of actually travelling to one), attending an online call feels, for better or worse, pretty natural. We’re used to it, to say the least.

For Harris, there are hallmarks of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, which has been credited with using social media in new ways to fundraise, organise volunteers and reach communities. What’s worked so well for Harris in the past few weeks is that it’s largely been natural – most of it hasn’t required any input from her.

Galvanised Gen Zers have been making memes, creating groups, reaching undecided voters all of their own volition, often citing things such as reproductive rights or Project 2025 to help convince apathetic Zers who aren’t yet decided or registered.

Swifties are a good example of an online, Gen Z-led community that has been getting involved in the election in recent weeks. Whilst Taylor Swift’s fans come from all across the political spectrum, a group naming themselves Swifties for Kamala (@swifties4kamala) was founded on the same evening that Biden announced he wasn’t going to stand again.

Following on from a viral tweet by one of the organisers, the group quickly gained tens of thousands of followers on each of the main social media platforms.

Swift herself hasn’t publicly endorsed the group, and neither has she endorsed either Trump or Harris, but that’s not stopping fans of hers from using their digital communities to fundraise, raise awareness of key issues, and encourage young people to register to vote.

Swifties for Harris uses a Discord channel to organise themselves across the country; they’ve also been in touch with Harris’ campaign to work together in the future.