Influencers gain access to political conventions as campaigns court young voters – WEIS

(CHICAGO) — As the Democratic National Convention made history and Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black woman of South Asian descent to accept the Democratic presidential nomination, the most viral moments of a week of “firsts” were captured by social media content creators who were the first of their kind to gain accredited access to the convention.

With the presidential campaign less than three months away, the key to victory may be winning over the youngest generation of voters, whose coming of age has changed the electoral landscape.

According to Pew Research, a third of adults under 30 regularly search social media apps like TikTok to find news — a 255% increase since 2020.

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement and Learning reported that young voters are consuming and producing political news more than ever before: 70% of young people said they learned about the 2020 election through social media.

This is one reason why both Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns are getting creative and investing in their social media strategy to influence Generation Z voters.

Both parties invited hundreds of creatives to their respective conventions to draw attention to their platforms and presidential candidates.

According to RNC officials, about 70 content creators were invited to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last month.

The DNC said about 200 social media influencers have been accredited to the convention, giving them exclusive access to invitation-only parties and events, as well as the opportunity to meet and interview delegates.

They also received access to an exclusive “Creator's Lounge,” separate from the traditional media rooms in the United Center arena. Influencers took turns recording content from a designated seating area on the arena floor near the stage.

“There are influencers that are much more powerful than the television networks, much more powerful than the New York Times or the Washington Post, and much more important when you're trying to reach actual voters,” said Rick Klein, ABC News' Washington bureau and policy director, in an interview with “Nightline.”

“If you can get young voters to get just a little bit more involved, the thinking goes, that could make a decisive difference in the election,” Klein said.

The battle for the votes of young people

From former President Donald Trump's return to X in an interview with Elon Musk to the Vice President's viral memes to kick off her presidential campaign, presidential candidates are struggling to reach young voters.

So far, Harris seems to be ahead: In the 18- to 39-year-old age group, the vice president is 20 percentage points ahead of Trump, according to a recent Ipsos poll by ABC News and the Washington Post.

In terms of follower count, Trump beats Harris with 10.5 million followers compared to her 4.6 million on TikTok.

“When we're backstage at events, I constantly joke with President Trump and say he's the ultimate influencer. He was the original OG influencer type,” Brilyn Hollyhand, an 18-year-old social media influencer, told “Nightline.”

Hollyhand was among the content creators accredited to the Republican National Convention. The high school student chaired the convention's youth advisory committee and said it was his idea to give young social creators accredited access to the RNC.

“My message to the RNC after the 2022 midterm elections was that the Republican Party is an endangered species. I went into that meeting with the assumption that it was going to be a really hard sell. And they responded immediately,” Hollyhand said.

Hollyhand told ABC News he believes, based on his own experience, it was a success.

“When I came back to school the following week, half of my classmates didn't even know there was a convention, but their favorite fitness influencer had posted a video or their favorite video game streamer had posted a TikTok from the event… they had found out there was a convention and they loved it,” Hollyhand added.

While young voters tend to lean Democratic, Klein told Nightline, voter turnout is the bigger variable.

“The biggest question is not how they vote, but how many of them vote. And this is where the enthusiasm that can be generated through authentic communication via influencers can make a difference,” Klein said.

Malynda Hale, an actress and social media influencer with over 90,000 followers, was among the 200 influencers at the DNC in Chicago this week.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Hale told ABC News multiplatform reporter Christiane Cordero on “GMA3.” “When I found out it was going to be Kamala Harris, I thought, this is going to be historic.”

Hale posted daily updates and interviews with delegates while attending DNC convention events.

“I won a couple hundred, just yesterday, just from this stuff. And since the hashtag #democraticconvention, I think everyone is watching it right now,” Hale said.

Many credential influencers say they are not paid by the Democratic National Convention or the campaign, but some of their travel is funded by agencies and nonprofits associated with their content.

Elizabeth Booker Houston, a social justice influencer with more than half a million followers, says her independent funding allows her to remain authentic on her platform.

“I participated in a protest for Palestine on Michigan Avenue on Sunday when I was here. I don't feel at all that I'm silenced when I speak out about these issues just because I'm here at the DNC,” Houston said.

Some influential people who attend the DNC use their platforms to promote presidential candidates who fit their agenda.

Deja Foxx, an abortion rights activist, was one of the first influencers to take the stage at the DNC convention.

“We need Kamala Harris. She will give us a future in which we can decide for ourselves whether and when we start a family,” Deja said on August 19 on the stage of the party convention.

The Arizona native made headlines in 2017 when he confronted Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona for supporting cuts to reproductive health and family planning programs.

“Why do you have the right to take away my right to choose Planned Parenthood?” Foxx asked Flake. The moment was shared on Facebook by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, and millions of people have liked the video in solidarity.

Foxx said she began creating content about reproductive rights on her social media accounts. In 2019, while still a student at Columbia University, she received a call from the Harris campaign during the now-vice president's first presidential bid.

“Within two weeks, I packed up my dorm room and started a job as an influencer and backup strategist at headquarters, a job that, mind you, didn't exist before I got there,” Foxx told ABC News.

This year, the Harris campaign invited Foxx to speak at the DNC as an accredited writer. Foxx said she has not been directly affiliated with the campaign since her role in 2019. She notes that she was not paid for her participation in the DNC by any PAC or the Harris campaign directly; however, footage shot at the convention event is used as part of a paid partnership and is labeled accordingly.

“To be here today and to be a small part of history is a dream come true,” Foxx said, adding that she was aware that those around her could use her content to shape their political views.

“They're building a political identity in their teens and early twenties that will stay with them, our generation, for a lifetime. I think it's a really smart investment to think about how we help them build that perspective, that opinion early on, and meet them on the platforms that they're already on,” Foxx said.

ABC News' Marjorie McAfee, Zoe Chevalier and Elizabeth Pekin contributed to this report.

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