Kamala Harris energizes Gen Z on social media as Vice President and potential presidential candidate

This piece is featured in The 74’s EDlection 2024 series, examining the education policies of candidates and their potential impact on the American education system post the 2024 election.

One sunny Saturday, when former students gathered at Lindsey Cormack’s New Jersey residence for a barbecue, the 2024 presidential race unexpectedly became a hot topic of discussion. Despite President Joe Biden, 81, losing ground daily to former President Donald Trump, 78, the students, including political science professor Cormack, were buzzing with excitement. Cormack, who just penned a book on civic engagement, teaches at Stevens Institute of Technology.

To her surprise, during the gathering, Cormack’s former students, enthusiastic about Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president and the potential candidate, demonstrated fervor. They found Harris interesting, engaging, and amusing, despite her not being Trump’s direct competitor at that time.

Regardless, the students found Harris to be entertaining and captivating, particularly after her viral “Coconut Tree” video circulated widely. In the video, Harris recounts her mother’s humorous remarks, which left a lasting impression on the students.

Observing this phenomenon, Cormack noticed Harris’s growing popularity among the youth, setting the stage for the emergence of the candidate-as-meme trend. With both candidates vying for the attention of young voters, the impact of Harris’s social media presence on the forthcoming elections remains uncertain.

Currently, Harris, 59, is leveraging her social media presence, supported by a team of volunteers actively generating a multitude of memes.

Following Biden’s exit from the race on July 21, Harris had already captured the interest of young audiences through various channels, including cleverly edited videos of her speeches, laughter, dances (even in the rain), and her fondness for Venn diagrams.

From as early as July 6, Harris’s traction with young audiences was evident through impactful user posts on popular platforms like X.