Gen Z voters were among the over 15,000 attendees of the Harris-Walz rally at Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena on Friday. The young voters echoed opinions on the campaign's social media tactics, the platform's inclusion and the growing involvement of their generation.
"I'm a black woman, and I think (Harris') views are really good for our people," said Haley Edwards, a 17-year-old community college student who will turn 18 before election day. "Vote for Harris because she's a good person... Vote for someone that you would like the most."
Edwards is one of the approximately 8 million members of Gen Z that will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election for the first time. Gen Z voters are more concerned than previous generations about issues such as racism and gun violence, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
Among the Gen Z voters in the audience was Arav Rastogi, an incoming ASU freshman studying music education and political science. According to Rastogi, Harris is appealing to Gen Z voters because of her dedication to protecting the rights of Americans.
"Seeing her platform being based on the fact that she's willing to protect younger people and especially younger LGBTQ people— it just really speaks to me," said Rastogi. "For Gen Z as a whole, she's willing to put us forward, instead of the billionaires or the older people."
Tony Wu, a political science student from the University of California San Diego, also attended the Arizona rally. According to him, Gen Z voters are becoming more involved in the election since Harris announced her campaign.
"Before, they were turned off by the election, but now, there's a lot more enthusiasm," Wu said. "In terms of energizing voters, increasing voter turnout, especially among young people, I think she's the perfect candidate for that."
Wu also said he knows young staffers working for Harris' campaign use social media tools to increase voter turnout. He referenced Kamala HQ, Harris' campaign social media account that garnered over three million followers on TikTok. Kamala HQ has also garnered a significant following on Instagram, Facebook and X.
"Being able to tap into that base, using the tools that our generation is familiar with, has been important," said Wu.
Wu said Gen Z voters are especially vital in campaigning because they will be the ones who will live with the decisions made for the country years after current politicians' careers.
"It's important to have representation in this generation to have people of our age make decisions that are going to impact the world that we live in tomorrow," said Wu.
Sammy Cristerna, a rising junior studying political science at ASU, said this representation suggests to Gen Z voters that the Harris-Walz campaign understands their community.
"They understand our lingo, they understand the future... Those little things do matter," Cristerna said. "We're this unserious generation, and honing into that un-seriousness propels this campaign forward."
This was the first political rally Cristerna has attended. Beyond rallies, he works to help people get registered to vote before Election Day, and as a political science student, he said he is excited to see his generation's involvement in the election process.
"Both of them (Harris and Walz) have undoubtedly so much charisma and energy, and I feel like people, after President Biden said he was dropping out of the race, were just relieved and hopeful and have a newfound hope for politics," said Cristerna.
Those in attendance heard from a variety of Arizona political leaders before Walz and Harris took the stage. Mayor Corey Woods of Tempe, Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix and Mayor John Giles of Mesa all spoke in support of Harris' campaign.
"(We are) representing the strong bipartisan support for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, as well as Democrats up and down the ballot from communities across the entire Grand Canyon State," said Woods.
When Walz took the stage, he thanked the speakers before him and the around 15,000- 20,000 people in attendance at the rally.
"You came here for one beautiful, simple reason," Walz said. "You love this democracy."
Walz spoke on numerous topics to appeal to Arizona voters, including student loan debt.
"When Vice President Harris talks about freedom... it's when education is a ticket to the middle class, not crippling student loan debt," Walz said. "We are people that settle our political differences not through violence, but through voting."
After Walz welcomed Harris to the stage, she assured voters in the audience, "We are going to do this."
As Harris began her speech, she was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters in the audience chanting, "Free, free Palestine." Harris took the opportunity to confirm her stance on the issue.
"We're here to fight for our democracy, which includes respecting the voices that I think that we are hearing from," Harris said. "I have been clear. Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal."
Harris then continued her scheduled speech, in which she spoke about abortion rights, voting rights, gun violence and LGBTQ+ rights.
"Ours is a fight for the future," said Harris. "And it is a fight for freedom."
Edited by River Graziano, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett
Reach the reporters at alysa.horton@gmail.com and gheadle@asu.edu and follow @alysa_horton and @George_Headley7 on X.
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George is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked at Times Media Group.
