As student Democrats across the nation figure out what's next for their party, some decide to invoke change with Unity Rising USA, a PAC set to counter Turning Point USA.
Jacob George, a junior studying political science, is the executive director for Unity Rising. His goal is to uplift working class perspectives among Democratic candidates and leaders. Failing to understand the working class, he said, is why Democrats faced electoral defeats in 2024.
"We really wanted to take the mistakes that we learned, and hopefully we could apply them," George said.
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George and Maia Whitt, the communications director for Unity Rising and a student at Scottsdale Community College, said economic issues exacerbate social issues and are the top priority.
She and George also referenced how topics such as climate change can negatively impact economic struggles like insurance costs.
"We really need to start focusing on economics and how we’re going to move forward and build the working class," George said.
Converting that idea into clear and effective messaging is something Unity Rising's leaders have evaluated. George believes Democrats need to resist the temptation to over-explain their policies.
"We need to be simple," George said.
Whitt and George also said Democratic messaging that solely opposes President Donald Trump is harmful.
"We know now that stopping the other side is not a motivating factor to turn out voters," Whitt said.
George said exclusively using anti-Trump messaging hurt the Harris-Walz campaign in 2024. Unity Rising intends to invest heavily in social media outreach that avoids these traits.
"We need to actually provide real results and plans moving forward," George said.
George wants Unity Rising to start a podcast that could combine entertainment and politics to appeal to groups like young men.George also said the PAC needs to be willing to "throw some dirt around."
Whitt called the approach "Regina George liberalism," citing activist and influencer Suzanne Lambert’s appeal to the "Mean Girls" character. George mentioned the "MAGA makeup" trend Lambert started on TikTok.
George said the PAC wants to counter Turning Point USA, a conservative PAC founded by Charlie Kirk.
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Although Turning Point USA has greater financial resources, George hopes to challenge their influence on campus by unifying many groups and coalitions.
"We want to build something big," George said.
Sydney Gilliland, the president of the University’s chapter of Turning Point USA and a senior studying political science, said Turning Point USA is an organization promoting civic engagement.
Gilliland commented on behalf of herself, not as a representative of Turning Point USA.
Gilliland said she agreed with the need to improve the economic situation of the working class, but expressed worries with Unity Rising's approach.
"How you’re planning to do so is where I would have to start asking more questions," Gilliland said.
Gilliland said Turning Point USA supports "America First" positions, and the organization is aligned on policy rather than party objectives.
Gilliland attributed the Democrat's losses to the effects of Biden's policy on issues like the economy. She said Arizonans were particularly exposed to issues like immigration and drug misuse that were talking points of the Trump-Vance ticket.
George said the Harris-Walz campaign was hurt by its close association with the Biden administration and could not effectively separate itself from the former presidency. He pointed to messaging as a major failure.
"The campaign of joy and hope did not work," George said.
Whitt said they wanted to engage voters every year, rather than only leading up to elections. They want to learn what exactly the working class cares about rather than assuming, while also taking bigger risks with their messaging.
"We're too kind," George said. "You have to fight fire with fire."
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Ramirez and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at coyer1@asu.edu and follow @carstenoyer on X.
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Carsten is a freshman studying journalism and mass communication. This is his first semester with The State Press. He also worked as his high school's newspaper editor-in-chief.
