As a demographic, millennials aren’t too keen on Hillary Clinton, but young Hillary supporters are out there. Wired spoke with some of them about their “plan to prove they exist.”
A common theme with these young supporters was bemoaning how miscategorized they tend to be. Nick Day and Brandon Powers, 24, were even confused for “Bernie bros” while at a Hillary rally in New York City on Wednesday.
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Day called it “pretty absurd” to “feel like I’m on the defensive all the time.” And, Heidi Bradway, 21, also at the rally, said “I kind of feel like an outcast volunteering with the Hillary campaign.”
Sanders has won the youth vote in all of the primaries except for Alabama and Mississippi, and by large margins, even in states where Hillary has easily beat him overall. He also has more of a presence on social media. Young voters love Sanders’ #FeeltheBern slogan, and have made #ToneDownForWhat into a trend, as have largely non-white Sanders’ supporters when it comes to #BernieMadeMeWhite.
Hillary, however, lacks the clever slogans and hashtags. While Jimmy Kimmel offered some suggestions, Hillary didn’t seem too enthused to take them up.
But, where Hillary herself may lack the social media savvy, her young fans have tried to take the reins. The co-founder of the #ImWithHer app is 30-year-old Ashley Beale. The app is a social network where Hillary supporters can easily come together. While Hillary herself is not too keen on selfies, the app features a “Hilfie” option for users to take a screenshot with the candidate upon first signing up.
Beale said the app is intended to combat Sanders’ social media presence, and added that it’s a “misconception that there aren’t young people for Hillary, and Bernie has all this momentum online.”
A strong social media presence is an important political strategy whether one is an app-creating entrepreneur or not. At the rally, Powers planned to make his Facebook profile picture the Clinton logo and said he’s “going to Snapchat the hell out of today.” Spoken like a true millennial.
