A new style of political campaigning has emerged in this year’s election race. A strong focus on social media presence has caused a rise in young voter participation.
Major social media outlets continue to feature the presidential race, with Snapchat creating new filters and live stories for caucuses, Facebook publishing political polls and election-related hashtags trending on Twitter and Instagram.
When it comes to catering to the 18-24 year old crowd, Republican businessman Donald Trump and Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont are winning the game. These two candidates are often credited for bringing young voters to the polls.
“Undoubtedly, Trump and Sanders are appealing to our generation. They have tapped into frustration that our democracy is controlled by special interest groups,” Greg Manz, deputy state director for the Carson America campaign, said. “However, I think we’re seeing more political engagement by millennials because of their realization that a $19 trillion debt is unsustainable and puts their future at risk.”
Fox News correspondent Kimberly Guilfoyle said Sanders’ explosive growth is an “exciting way” for students facing oppressive debt to get involved on “Fox and Friends.” At the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1, Sanders’ campaign cheered, “What Iowa has begun tonight is a political revolution.”
Millennial voters are excited about the possibility of getting behind the beginning of an exciting new era in politics, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that Sanders has tailored his campaign specifically to them.
Sanders has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter and has experienced the most rapid Twitter growth this year, with Donald Trump following closely behind him. But Sanders’ popularity isn’t limited to cyberspace; at his University of Iowa rally Jan. 30, Sanders drew a crowd of over 4,000. How does social media influence your voting decisions? Take our poll here.
Students waited in line for over 12 hours to hear from the senator and his lineup of all-star supporters who catered to the millennial crowd. Vampire Weekend performed and actor Josh Hutcherson fired up the crowd of hopeful, excited voters.
“It’s his passion,” Brad Blaylock, a general studies major and Sanders supporter, said. “He wants to help the people. He loves people. I trust that Bernie will always do the right thing. His ideas are new. I think our system is broken. We don’t need a better version of the system, we need a new system, and Bernie is offering that.”
Jack Walecki, an intern for Carly for America Super PAC, said the new technology-based forms of communication, like Twitter, have forced candidates to use them as well.
Throughout this debate season the candidates haven’t been able to escape social media: moderators for debates have incorporated questions asked by Facebook users and have also streamed questions submitted by YouTube stars.
“They’ve also allowed voters to have more input in the political process as they can voice their opinions at any time on the Internet,” Walecki said.
