American gen Z voters share how they feel about Kamala Harris’s presidential bid, why they like or dislike her as a candidate and whether they think she could beat Donald Trump, as the vice-president races towards winning the Democratic nomination for November’s election.
‘I think she’s just what we need’
“I think [Kamala Harris] is the only one that makes sense. She will get the votes Biden couldn’t. She could get the Black, Asian, Latino, women’s, LGBTQ+ and youth votes. She stands more for progress and equality than an old white dude and if she wins it will be historic. The Democrats need a bold move and I think she’s just what we need.
“I hope the Democrats realize what an opportunity this is for them.” Will, 22, construction worker from Portland, Oregon
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For many late Gen Z’ers, this will be the first election they even get to vote. I remember being in high school and I couldn’t wait to vote when I was 18 because I followed politics very closely. My peers on the other hand, not so much. For every kid at my school who was politically active enough to care about issues that mattered to them, there were about 4-5 more that were completely and utterly apathetic or didn’t have a clue about the candidates or the issues.
The danger in assuming that people who are making the decision to vote now were somehow complicit with having Trump is that they may not have been aware of the problem to begin with. A lot of young eligible voters miss their first few elections because they haven’t developed a political opinion beyond whatever their parents might think, they haven’t taken the time to properly educate themselves on the issues, or there’s still a disconnect between how the election results might affect them in their daily lives.
A fresh new candidate that is pumping energy into the race is getting young people motivated to vote, and that’s a good thing. Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Don’t overcomplicate a very obvious and easy matter.