Now that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee, her attention has turned toward one of her greatest hurdles – young voters.
Clinton’s opposition, Bernie Sanders, accumulated a large millennial following during his bid for the Democratic nomination. Without strong millennial support, Clinton can’t win the presidency.
Despite her previous Snapchat escapades to appeal to media-savvy millennials, she knows she is fighting an uphill battle to unify the party against Donald Trump. Tad Devine, a longtime Democratic consultant, told Politico that young people “will engage and will turn out in this election particularly if they feel that there is an agenda being presented that will make a real difference in their lives.”
Devine added that the data and targeting tools that Sanders used to great effect in the Democratic primaries will be available to Clinton if she chooses to take advantage of them.
Clinton has received endorsements from several celebrities, including Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian West, and Lena Dunham. As these celebrities appeal to millennials, Clinton may see a spike in her young voter support. President Obama, who was popular with young voters during his presidential campaigns, will visit college campuses and endorse her too.
Though Sanders’ support could be one of the most beneficial things for Clinton’s campaign, she could also try rebranding herself. Because many young people have grown disenchanted with incumbent politicians during the last few years, Clinton must accentuate how her politics would differ from Obama’s.
Millennials rallied behind Sanders because they respected his vision for change and political revolution. Clinton must determine where she too can inspire change and promote those policies.
Clinton must also be bold on her choice for vice president, as it could greatly influence the opinion of millennials. She should continue experimenting with social media, though not everyone agrees that Clinton must pursue the young vote that way.
“She doesn’t need to be cool. She just needs to be who she is,” said Sarah Audelo, the Clinton campaign’s youth vote director. “That’s what young people are interested in. Young people want authenticity.”
But will that be enough to win over an entire following of millennials? That remains to be seen.
